What came before Netflix? How Riga went to the cinema 100 years ago
In a new episode from the Russian-language service of Latvian public media LSM, art historian Gabriella Kabjē traces the history of cinema in Riga, from the Lumière brothers' first moving pictures to the Splendid Palace cinema.
The Russian-language edition of Latvia's public media outlet LSM has published a new episode in its history section about how Riga fell in love with film and what going to the cinema looked like roughly a century ago. It is titled "What came before Netflix? How people went to the cinema 100 years ago".
In the episode, art historian Gabriella Kabjē takes audiences on a journey through the history of Riga's cinema. The starting point is the moving pictures of the Lumière brothers, one of the beginnings of cinema as an art form. The journey ends at the Splendid Palace cinema.
Questions the episode explores
The episode looks at where the city's first cinemas appeared and what the earliest film screenings were like. Kabjē also explains why going to the cinema at the start of the 20th century was considered a real event.
The source gives no further details about specific cinemas, dates or the course of the screenings, so those questions remain part of the episode's own content.
