A Lumière museum in Lyon
The two brothers who invented cinema have been honoured with the highest tribute imaginable: a museum entirely dedicated to Louis and Auguste Lumière. The museum will open its doors to the public in Lyon on 20 June, which is also the 20th anniversary of the Institut Lumière, headed up by the artistic director of the Cannes Film Festival, Thierry Fremaux.
The Lumière Institute was built in 1982 on the site of the Lumière family home and hard by the factory where Lumière Père, Antoine, manufactured the photographic materials that his two sons, Louis and Auguste used to film the factory workers. The brothers screened the results of their invention, the Cinématographe, on 28 December 1895. This site was classified as an historical monument thanks to the efforts of a group of film fans that included Bernard Chardère, the first director of the Lumière Institute, film directors Bertrand Tavernier and Jacques Deray, and film historian Raymond Chirat.
The museum’s screening room will shortly be fitted out with a HD projector thus enabling the Lumière Institute to combine the lessons learned from the heritage of the inventive brothers with contemporary cinema. The project was facilitated by the City of Lyon’s having purchased 418 artefacts and mementoes for the museum including the "jewel in the crown", the very first film projector, thus ensuring that the museum becomes a veritable treasure house for film lovers everywhere.
Fabien Lemercier
(Translated from French)
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