The Sprinkler Sprinkled1895

A woman and several young children sprint a narrow jetty to dive into the waves. The land is behind us; the lines of the jetty and horizon in harmonic counterpoint.

Belle Époque Paris comes to life in this Lumière short filmed at the Paris Botanical Gardens. The titular ostrich leads the way, though we also see children riding atop camels and elephants.

An early lesson that self-reflexive film is best served as comedy.

The Lumières stay inside the studio for this delightful portrait of a quick-change artist.

WORKERS LEAVING THE FACTORY, was the first film shown at Auguste and Louis Lumière's premiere screening on December 28, 1895, at Le Salon Indien du Grand Café in Paris (the first film screening in history).

THE DEMOLITION OF A WALL evokes the initial fascination with the motion picture camera's capacity to capture an irrevocable event.