Cinematograph Day
World ObservancesWhat Is Cinematograph Day?
December 28th is "Cinematograph Day." It commemorates December 28, 1895, when the Lumière brothers (Auguste and Louis Lumière) of France held the world's first paid public film screening at a café in Paris, marking the birth of the film exhibition business. It is often called the birthday of world cinema.
The Lumière Brothers and the Birth of Cinema
The cinématographe was a combined film camera and projector developed by the Lumière brothers. The first screening took place in the "Indian Salon," a basement room of the Grand Café in Paris. Only about 35 people attended, but they were reportedly astonished by the miracle of moving images. Films shown that day included "Workers Leaving the Factory," "The Arrival of a Train," and "The Sprinkler Sprinkled," all of which survive today.
A Timeline of Film History
- 1895: The Lumière brothers hold the world's first film screening in Paris
- 1896: Film arrives in Japan, with screenings in Kobe and Tokyo
- 1927: "The Jazz Singer," the world's first talkie (film with sound), is released
- 1935: Technicolor brings full color films into the mainstream
- 1990s onward: CGI and digital imaging revolutionize filmmaking
- Today: Streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+ have transformed how we watch movies
How This Differs from Movie Day (December 1)
In Japan, December 1st is "Movie Day," commemorating the first film screening in Japan in 1896, while December 28th is Cinematograph Day, commemorating the world's first film screening. Both days are wonderful occasions to celebrate the magic of cinema.