New York, Broadway and Wall Street

synopsis

At the intersection of Broadway and Wall Street, pedestrians, carriages, wagons and trams cross paths. Promio captures the city as a network of simultaneous movements, in which no single figure remains the centre of attention for long. The traffic itself becomes both the main subject and the driving force of the image.

biography

Alexandre Promio (1868–1926) was one of the Lumière company’s foremost cinematographers. From 1896 onwards, he travelled with the Cinématographe across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas. His films expanded early cinema’s horizons through travelogue perspectives, bustling urban scenes and a camera moving through space.

film details

director:

Alexandre Promio