WORKING-CLASS CINEMA IN THE AGE OF DIGITAL CAPITALISM by Massimiliano Mollona

The story of cinema starts with workers. The film Workers Leaving The Lumière Factory In Lyon (La Sortie des Usines Lumière à Lyon, 1895) by the brothers Louis and Auguste Lumière, 45 seconds long, shows the approximately 100 workers at a factory for photographic goods in Lyon- Montplaisir leaving through two gates and exiting the frame to both sides. But why does the story of cinema begin with the end of work? …

About the author 

Massimiliano Mollona is Senior Lecturer in Anthropology at Goldsmiths’ College, London. His work focuses on politico-economic anthropology and film, especially on ideas of participation, labor, class and activism. He has done extensive fieldwork and several film projects in Brazil and the United Kingdom.