125 years ago, on 12/28/1895, the Lumiere Brothers conducted the first-ever commercial movie screening in Paris, using their camera/projector the Cinematographe. To mark the anniversary, the director of the Cannes Film Festival Thierry Fremaux offered a guest column to Variety Magazine, looking back at the invention of movie-going and forward to its post-pandemic future. The 125-year history of exhibition proves that going to the movies is fundamental to our nature, merging our desire to be entertained with our need to be social.
See also: Will the film industry please stop predicting its own demise? (Los Angeles Times)