Short Movie Saturday: The Dreyfus Affair (1899)

This was the first film ever banned (story below from Change Before Going Productions). Also noteworthy is that this is a compiled version of all the shorts, as the films were originally shot in parts.

The Dreyfus Affair (aka L’Affaire Dreyfus) is a multi-film narrative by Georges Méliès regarding the controversial political scandal surrounding Captain Alfred Dreyfus, convicted of Treason in 1894 France. After Emile Zola published his infamous letter, “J’Accuse”, which accused the government of anti-Semitism and unlawful jailing, Dreyfus was eventually re-tried. In 1906, he was exonerated and reinstated as a major in the French Army. This film, produced in the midst of the scandal, would become the 1st censored movie as it was banned in France.