What was Pathé-Baby?

The advent of the Pathé-Baby camera and the consolidation of home cinema in Brazil

Cine PathéGeneral Archive of Rio de Janeiro City

Pathé cinemas

Pathé cinemas were founded by Marc Ferrez and family, the first representatives of the Pathé-Frères (Pathé Brothers) company, which arrived in Brazil in 1905.

Cine Pathé (1950/1955)General Archive of Rio de Janeiro City

Pathé Palace, Cinelândia

After the success of cinemas in the first decades of the 20th century, the projector and Pathé-Baby camera were launched by the French company Pathé-Frères in the early 1920s.

ProcessionGeneral Archive of Rio de Janeiro City

The 9.5 mm film, besides being lighter, resulted in a device that was cheaper than professional cameras. The company did not just sell cinematographic equipment, but also rented and processed movies.

Aspecto da Praça Floriano, com a construção de prédios da Cinelândia ao fundo. (1925) by Augusto Malta and 1925General Archive of Rio de Janeiro City

Cinelândia, 1925

During Rio's urbanization process in the first decades of the 20th century, the landscape of Floriano Peixoto Square (Cinelândia) was also transformed. Francisco Serrador, a Spanish businessman, contributed both to movie theaters and movie attractions.

Cine PathéGeneral Archive of Rio de Janeiro City

Inside the Pathé Cinema, n.d.

With more affordable costs and a format that facilitated easier manipulation of the camera, the technology that Pathé-Baby introduced to the market altered film consumption patterns and contributed to the development of the visual culture of amateur cinema from the 1920s onwards.

Dismantling of Morro do CasteloGeneral Archive of Rio de Janeiro City

Images: From the public to the private

Amateur productions moved from the private sphere to the public space: from family events to traditional celebrations, including records of urban development. With Pathé-Baby, filmes de enredo or plot films (as fictional productions were called) and documentaries were also produced.

Amor de Sertanejo– rama em 2 actos (Countryman Love–Drama in two acts)General Archive of Rio de Janeiro City

Sertanejo Love (Amor de Sertanejo): A plot film

The positive reception of amateur film productions revealed the desire for professionalization in the field of Brazilian cinema.

Credits: Story

Mayor of Rio de Janeiro
Eduardo Paes

Secretary of State
Eduardo Cavaliere

General Archive of the City of Rio de Janeiro
Rosa Maria Araujo

Documentation Center
Maria Thereza Kahl Fonseca

Curatorship and editing
Conrado Werneck Pimentel

Historical research
Conrado Werneck Pimentel and Yanara Galvão (LUPA-UFF)

Text revision
Pedro Paulo Malta

Interns
Luísa da Costa de Oliveira and Marcelle Araujo Lins

Film digitization
LUPA/UFF - University Laboratory for Audiovisual Preservation

References
A presença da “Pathé-Baby” no Rio de Janeiro e a coleção Paschoal Nardone no acervo do AGCRJ
Lila Foster e Roberto Souza Leão  
Pathé: 80 anos na vida do Rio
Gilberto Ferrez

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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