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Optical toys, developments in photography, and Muybridge’s research all contributed to the birth of film — sequences of images projected rapidly one after another, creating the illusion of movement.

At the end of the 19th century, film began to spread around the world, first as a fairground attraction and later as an art form. It might therefore seem that the whole process was actually quite fast and straightforward.

But that was not the case. Moving images have probably been with us for much longer. Archaeologists have discovered the first films in prehistoric cave paintings, which literally came to life in the flickering light of fire.