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== Early history == The film industry in Azerbaijan dates back to 1898. In fact, Azerbaijan was among the first countries involved in cinematography. When the Lumière brothers of France premiered their first motion picture footage in Paris on December 28, 1895, little did they know how rapidly it would ignite a new age of photographic documentation. These ingenious brothers invented an apparatus, patented in February 1895, which they called the "Cinématographe" (from which the word "cinematography" is derived). It's not surprising that this apparatus soon showed up in Baku – at the turn of the 19th century, this bay town on the Caspian was producing more than 50 percent of the world's supply of oil. Just like today, the oil industry attracted foreigners eager to invest and to work.〔(Celebrating 100 Years in Film, not 80 ) by Aydin Kazimzade. Azerbaijan International, Autumn 1997.〕 A Frenchman by the name of Alexandre Michon was among the first entrepreneurs who came and settled in Baku. A photographer and cameraman by profession, he is believed to have lived in Baku for more than 25 years where he set up a photo studio. Mishon became active in forming a scientific photo circle in Baku and became its secretary. From 1879 to 1905, he documented landscapes, episodes from oil extraction, the refining process, as well as the oil gushers and terrifying fires that broke out in the oil fields. In 1898, Mishon began shooting motion pictures that depicted everyday life in Baku. It was his intention to exhibit them in Paris. Michon's footages still exist up to date in the archives of the Union of Cinematographers of Azerbaijan. The Folk Dance of Caucasus was later used in a documentary, and the scenes from The Oil Gush Fire in Bibiheybat were shown in France in 1995, in a film commemorating the 100th anniversary of world cinema. The Newspaper Announcement about Michon's films: ''"On Sunday, August 2, 1898, A. Michon, will show some motion pictures that he has taken with a Lumière movie camera and which has been improved by the engineer Jules Carpentier. These films of the Caucasus and Central Asia have been prepared for the forthcoming International Paris Exhibition and will be presented only once in Baku at the V. I. Vasilyev-Vyatski Circus Theater. ''"The following films will be shown: Fire resulting from an oil gusher at Bibi-Heybat oil field, the departure ceremony of His Excellency Amir of Bukhara (now Uzbekistan) in the Grand Duke Alexei steamship, a folk dance of the Caucasus, and scenes from the comedy, 'So, You Got Caught,' which was performed recently in one of Baku's parks. For more detailed information, see the posters. The event starts at 21:00 (9 p.m.)."'' The event was an enormous success and Michon repeated it on August 5, replacing the final two works with those showing life in Balakhani outside of Baku. Michon's footage still exists. "Folk Dance of the Caucasus" was later used in a documentary and scenes from "Oil Gush Fire in Bibi-Heybat" were shown in France in 1995, in a film commemorating the 100th anniversary of world cinema. On November 27, 1899 writer, scientist and social activist Hasan Zardabi in the "Kaspi" entitled an article were he wrote, ''"Now we have in our hands a toy machine-called "kinemato-graphe." This wonderful machine was produced only a short time ago and gives the impression of being just a toy. You can find this machine which is called 'stroboscope' in many optician shops."'' 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cinema of Azerbaijan」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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