And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine

45 billion (!) cameras exist on Earth. Chances are you also own one (or more). The first moving pictures - these are the ones Swedish directing duo Axel Danielson and Maximilien Van Aertryck are interested in - date back to the late 19th century, when the camera was invented. And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine is not a history lesson on how the movie camera evolved technically. The duo is mainly intrigued by how the camera has influenced our society since its invention. Clearly, the filmed image is fairly often a manipulation. And this is not typical of our times by the way; viewers were already misled during the early beginnings of cinema - even though the Lumière brothers saw the camera primarily as a scientific instrument. A fascinating documentary, without talking heads, but with loads of remarkable images.

“This documentary explores our love of looking and the complex history of humanity’s fascination with watching itself and the means it has invented over the past 200 years to do so. The revealing - and sometimes humorous - selection of archive footage is well chosen, with much that surprises.” - Cineuropa