Lumière! The Adventure of Cinema Begins

With passion and cinephilic enthusiasm, Thierry Frémaux brings the legacy of the Lumière brothers back to life. He has meticulously restored 114 of their films, revealing the wealth of innovation hidden within these short, seemingly simple works. Thanks to modern restoration techniques, every gesture, camera movement, and composition stands as a testament to the precision and narrative instinct of cinema’s pioneers. Frémaux not only presents these films but also interprets them, highlighting how they were ahead of their time and how they shaped the development of cinematic language. He explores the Lumières’ influence on editing, perspective, and documentary storytelling, emphasizing that their work was more than just a recording of reality – it was the first step toward conscious visual storytelling. For film lovers, Lumière! is a journey back to the origins of cinema, a time when moving images first began telling stories. For filmmakers, it serves as a powerful reminder that the foundations of cinematography still hold significance today.

Thierry Frémaux (born 1960) is one of the most influential figures in modern cinema—longtime artistic director of the Cannes Film Festival and head of the Institut Lumière. Under his leadership, Cannes has remained the world’s premier film showcase, while his passion for classic cinema has helped preserve the legacy of the Lumière brothers. As an author and advocate of auteur filmmaking, he skillfully bridges tradition with contemporary trends. His work not only shapes the festival landscape but also influences how cinema understands its history and envisions its future.