An inspiring picture of the early years of film. A new medium that developed rapidly into a popular form of entertainment thanks to new technology, artistic ingenuity and creative entrepreneurship. The film industry could grow in part because of passionate businessmen like Jean Desmet (1875-1956), who rose from fairground showman to become one of the most important cinema exhibitors and film distributors in the Netherlands.

This publication pays tribute to Jean Desmet the entrepreneur and pioneer, and especially to the films he screened. Films from the second decade of the last century surprise today’s audiences with their original imaginative power, uninhibited vision and inventive use of film techniques. The visual refinement of many of these films makes them both artistic and modern. The book has a lot of unique visual footage, such as posters, correspondence, photographs, and film stills.Jean Desmet’s estate, preserved by the EYE Film museum, consists of more than 900 films, but also includes many posters, photographs and documents. Among the films are masterpieces considered lost for decades. The collection is inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register.
Paperback, 21 x 26 cm, 192 pages, illustrated (200 full color), published December 2014. Editors: Marente Bloemheuvel, Jaap Guldemond, Mark-Paul Meyer. With contributions by: Rommy Albers, Sanne Baar, Soeluh van den Berg, Ivo Blom, Peter Delpeut, Sandra den Hamer, Marc-Paul Meyer, David Robinson, Elif Rongen-Kaynakci and Leanne van Schijndel.

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