Paul Spehr

The documentary’s starting point is the discovery and restoration of a rare and unknown photography reel reproduced from a mutoscope film, made in 1901 in London, about Santos Dumont (1873 – 1932). The work approaches historic and artistic aspects from the beginning of Cinema (pre cinema, variety film) and a cinema that appropriates archive material (found footage, recycled films), through interviews, documents, visual metaphors and the articulation of a poetic essay.

One-hour documentary recounts the untold story of the remarkable rise and fall of the Thanhouser Studio, one of American’s pioneering motion picture studios during the first decade of the twentieth century. It traces the evolution of one family’s career as it transitioned from producing live theater to establishing one of the most successful independent silent motion picture studios. The Thanhouser Studio produced and released over 1,000 silent motion pictures that were acclaimed by critics and seen by audiences around the world. Set against a background of the industry playing out in New York, Florida and California, it is a compelling story of fame and fortune, twisted by the vagaries of fate and ending on a bittersweet note.