In one of those wonderful coincidences of history, lumière, the French word for “light,” was also the last name of brothers Auguste and Louis, whose brilliant invention, the cinematograph, helped to inaugurate the most beloved art form of the last 130 years.
Institute Lumière director Thierry Frémaux uses LUMIERE, LE CINEMA! to guide the viewer through over a hundred shorts—some famous, some forgotten, some never before seen—directed by Lumière and company.