Date of use : 1995 Poland

Lumière Brothers and FilmFil 95: Cinema's First Century

Meter used to advertise the philatelic exhibition FilmFil 95 in Lodz, organized to honor the centenary of cinema. It shows Lumière Brothers in front of a cinema screen. The Lumière Brothers, Auguste (1862-1954) and Louis Lumière (1864-1948), were French inventors and filmmakers considered pioneers of cinema. They made significant contributions to the introduction of moving images to the public. On December 28, 1895, they held the first public film screening in cinema history at the Grand Café in Paris. The Lumière Brothers' most famous invention, the cinematograph, was a multi-functional device that served as a camera, projector, and film developer.

Unlike Thomas Edison's kinetoscope, it was lighter, more portable, and practical. Additionally, the cinematograph could be used as a projector, allowing large audiences to watch films simultaneously. This device enabled the Lumière Brothers to introduce their films to the public and played a crucial role in establishing cinema as an art and entertainment form.

At their 1895 screening, the Lumière Brothers presented 10 short films. The most famous of these was "L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat" ("The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station"), showing a train arriving at the station. Spectators reportedly leapt from their seats in fear, feeling as if the train was coming toward them. Other films included scenes from everyday life, such as "La Sortie de l'usine Lumière à Lyon" ("Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory in Lyon"), "Le Déjeuner de Bébé" ("Baby's Breakfast"), and "La Pêche aux poissons rouges" ("Fishing for Goldfish").

The Lumière Brothers played a significant role in making cinema popular, yet they saw it as a passing fad and eventually shifted their focus toward photography and medical research. In 1907, they developed Autochrome Lumière, a groundbreaking color photography technique, which became one of the most widely used methods for color photography in the early 20th century. The Lumière Brothers contributed greatly to the development of modern photography as well as cinema. After briefly continuing to shoot films following the invention of cinema, Louis Lumière withdrew from filmmaking in the early 1900s. Nonetheless, the Lumière Institute and museum in Lyon, France, preserve their legacy and provide resources for those interested in the early years of cinema. The work of the Lumière Brothers not only pioneered the birth of cinema but also helped transform it into one of the most influential art and entertainment forms of the 20th century.

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