Méliès, Georges (1861–1938)

French film pioneer. From 1896 to 1912 he made over 500 short films, mostly fantasies (including Le Voyage dans la lune/A Trip to the Moon, 1902). He developed trick effects, slow motion, double exposure, and dissolves, and in 1897 built Europe's first film studio in Montreuil, northern France.

Méliès began his career as a stage magician. His interest in cinema was sparked by the Lumière brothers' cinematograph, premiered in 1895. He constructed a camera and founded a production company, Star Film. But he failed to develop as a filmmaker and he went bankrupt in 1913.