Premiere is a cinematic investigation into the disappearance of Louis Le Prince and the fragile construction of film history. Inspired by the work of David Wilkinson, the film revisits the moment in 1890 when Le Prince was preparing to travel to Morris–Jumel Mansion to present what would have been the world’s first public exhibition of moving images, before vanishing on a train journey from Dijon to Paris.

Through Elizabeth Le Prince’s (wife) search for answers, the film traces a story shaped by absence, erasure, and competing claims of invention. Blending archival material, investigations in Leeds, and cinematic reenactments, Premiere examines how cinematic origins were defined not only by innovation, but by power and ownership, with figures such as Thomas Edison and the Lumière brothers ultimately dominating the historical record.

The recurring image of the train links Le Prince’s disappearance with the arrival of cinema itself, becoming a symbol of both progress and loss. Premiere reflects on how history is written, and what is left behind when invention becomes myth.