Alexandre Promio

Jean Alexandre Louis Promio (9 July 1868 – 24 December 1926) was a French film photographer and director. He is mentioned as a pioneer in film and was the director for Sweden's first Newsreel. The newsreel was shown for King Oscar II:s arrival at the General Art and Industrial Exposition on 15 May 1897. Alexandre Promio came from an Italian family that moved to France and resided in Lyon. During his time as an assistant to an optician in Lyon, he witnessed the first presentation of the medium of moving pictures cinematograph. Promio was interested in the art of photography, and in March 1896 left his work at the optician to start working for Auguste and Louis Lumière. After just some time at the work he became the boss for the film unit and got the responsibility for the education of the first cinematograph-operators. His first assignment was to present and marketing of the new media worldwide. Promio visited several cities between April 1896 and September 1897. The first trip went to Madrid where he demonstrated the moving pictures on 13 May 1896 On 7 July he did a film demonstration for the Tsar Nikolaj II of Russia and the empress of Saint Petersburg, after that he visited England, Germany and Hungary. In September 1896, he arrived in the US, and filmed the first films o... ()