Washington Street

synopsis

Washington Street in Boston becomes a stage for modern urban life before the camera. People and vehicles enter and disappear from view, while the architecture provides a fixed frame for their movement. The film allows us to compare the different rhythms of American streets at the end of the 19th century.

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