Project Detail

The First Film

Synopsis

'The First Film' is filmmaker David Nicholas Wilkinson’s 32 year quest to prove that in October 1888 Louis Le Prince produced the world's first films in Leeds, England. Once Le Prince had perfected his projection machine he arranged to demonstrate his discovery to the American public in New York and thus the world. However on 16th September 1890, just weeks before he was due to sail to New York Louis Le Prince stepped onto the Dijon to Paris train and was never seen again. As no body was ever found no one could legally fight the Le Prince claim that he invented a camera that recorded the very first moving image. As a result, several years later, Thomas Edison and the Lumiere Brothers were to claim the glory and the prize of being acknowledged as the first people to pioneer film.
Louis Le Prince was never added to history books. But for one lone voice, who worked with him, Le Prince's name and his pioneering work was forgotten.
Edinburgh International Film Festival 2015 - World premiere

Details

Year
2015
Type of film
Features
Running time
106 mins
Format
Digital
Director
David Nicholas Wilkinson 1st Feature
Producer
David Nicholas Wilkinson, Irfan Shah, Bil Lawrence, Sidonie Roberts, Chris Jones
Executive Producer
Doug Abbott, Robert Worcester
Editor
David Hughes
Screenwriter
David Nicholas Wilkinson, Irfan Shah
Director of Photography
Don McVey
Sound
Johan Maertens
Music
Christopher Barnett
Principal cast
David Nicholas Wilkinson, Michael Harvey, Mark Rance, Stephen Herbert, Ronald Harwood, Tom Courtenay, Joe Eszterhas

Categories

Production Status

Production Company

Guerilla Films (leprince) Limited

35 Thornbury Road
Isleworth
Middlesex
TW7 4LQ

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