''The First Film'' is a 2015 British documentary film about cinema pioneer

Louis Le Prince Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince (28 August 1841 – disappeared 16 September 1890, Presumption of death, declared dead 16 September 1897) was a French artist and the inventor of an early film, motion-picture camera, and director of ''Roundhay Ga ...

, made by David Nicholas Wilkinson. It argues the case that Le Prince, rather than the

Lumière brothers Lumière is French for 'light'. Lumiere, Lumière or Lumieres may refer to: Buildings * Lumière, a building used by the Bibliothèque publique d'information in Paris, France * Lumiere (skyscraper), a cancelled skyscraper development in Leeds, ...

, was the true inventor of moving pictures, making ''

Roundhay Garden Scene ''Roundhay Garden Scene'' is a short film, short silent film, silent motion picture filmed by French inventor Louis Le Prince at Oakwood, Leeds, Oakwood Grange in Roundhay, Leeds, in Yorkshire on 14 October 1888. It is believed to be the olde ...

'' in Leeds in 1888. Le Prince mysteriously disappeared in 1890.

Mark Kermode Mark Kermode (, ; ; born 2 July 1963) is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter, author and podcaster. He is the co-presenter (with Ellen E. Jones) of the BBC Radio 4 programme ''Screenshot'', and co-presenter ...

, film critic of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', described the documentary as "a flickering story that blends intrigue, industrial espionage, and possibly even murder". The world premiere of ''The First Film'' was at the 2015

Edinburgh International Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), established in 1947, is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all titles are World, international, European or UK Premieres), in al ...

. It went on general release in the United States in September 2016.

References

External links

* * * 2015 films 2015 documentary films British documentary films Documentary films about historical events Documentary films about films History of film Films about industrial espionage Louis Le Prince 2010s British films {{UK-documentary-film-stub