Shortly after the first "moving picture was viewed in 1895 using Thomas Edison's kinetoscope and the invention of the cinematographe projector by Auguste Lumière, Mexicans began queuing in cinemas in the capital to see international one-minute films such as The Card Players, Arrival of a Train, and The Magic Hat.
 The cinematograph arrived to Mexico seven months after its first projection in France, brought in by Claude Ferdinand Bon Bernard and Gabriel Veyre (the latter had been contracted by the Lumierè brothers to spread the cinematograph across México, Venezuela, the Guaianas and the Antilles).
Mexico entered production in the silent film industry with several movies, but many of the films up to the 1920s have been lost and were not well documented.

Film in México continued to expand quickly after its arrival in Mexico.
On 6 August 1896, President Porfirio Díaz invited Bon Bernard and Veyre to his residence at Chapultepec Castle, and eight days later, the first projection for the press was made in what is now Madero Street .
This projection included films by the Lumierè brothers such as L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat, and on 15 August, a projection was made for the general public.

President Díaz recognized the importance of cinema and appeared in many films placing him at the center of action with his cabinet ministers; in a parade; and in the zócalo.
In 1906, he is seen in La entrevista de los presidentes Díaz-Taft, the first-ever meeting of a U.S. President with Mexico's, one of the first filmed reportages produced in Mexico.
It was filmed by the Alva brothers.
The first fiction film to be created in Mexico was based on a recreation of the duel between two deputies, called Duelo a pistola en el bosque de Chapultepec (Gun duel in the Chapultepec forest).

Mexican cinema continued to become more available across the country, thanks in part to business men such as Guillermo Becerril, Carlos Mongrand and Salvador Toscano.
The origins of early Mexican film-making is generally associated with Salvador Toscano Barragán, who introduced the filmed reportage.
In 1898 Toscano made the country's first film with a plot, titled Don Juan Tenorio.
During the Mexican Revolution, Toscano recorded several clips of the battles, which would become a full-length documentary in 1950 title Memories of a Mexican, assembled by his daughter.
Other short films were either created or influenced from French film-makers.

By 1906, 16 movie theaters opened their doors to accommodate the popularity of cinema in Mexico City.
Carpas, or tent shows, were popular beginning in 1911 where lower-class citizens would perform picaresque humor and theatrical plays, a place for training for aspiring actors.
Politically affiliated films appearing in 1908, often deemed propagandistic by today's terms.
Significant battles were filmed and broadcast during the revolution which fueled Mexicans' excitement in cinema.
In addition, the first intents to formalize the Mexican cinematic industry were made between 1905 and 1906, with the creation of the first Mexican distributing companies.
Some of the most important companies were Empresa Cinematográfica Mexicana, American Amusement Company, Compañía Explotadora de Cinematógrafos and Unión Cinematográfica.
Shortly after the first "moving picture was viewed in 1895 using Thomas Edison's kinetoscope and the invention of the cinematographe projector by Auguste Lumière, Mexicans began queuing in cinemas in the capital to see international one-minute films such as The Card Players, Arrival of a Train, and The Magic Hat.  The cinematograph arrived to Mexico seven months after its first projection in France, brought in by Claude Ferdinand Bon Bernard and Gabriel Veyre (the latter had been contracted by the Lumierè brothers to spread the cinematograph across México, Venezuela, the Guaianas and the Antilles). Mexico entered production in the silent film industry with several movies, but many of the films up to the 1920s have been lost and were not well documented.
Film in México continued to expand quickly after its arrival in Mexico. On 6 August 1896, President Porfirio Díaz invited Bon Bernard and Veyre to his residence at Chapultepec Castle, and eight days later, the first projection for the press was made in what is now Madero Street . This projection included films by the Lumierè brothers such as L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat, and on 15 August, a projection was made for the general public.
President Díaz recognized the importance of cinema and appeared in many films placing him at the center of action with his cabinet ministers; in a parade; and in the zócalo. In 1906, he is seen in La entrevista de los presidentes Díaz-Taft, the first-ever meeting of a U.S. President with Mexico's, one of the first filmed reportages produced in Mexico. It was filmed by the Alva brothers. The first fiction film to be created in Mexico was based on a recreation of the duel between two deputies, called Duelo a pistola en el bosque de Chapultepec (Gun duel in the Chapultepec forest).
Mexican cinema continued to become more available across the country, thanks in part to business men such as Guillermo Becerril, Carlos Mongrand and Salvador Toscano. The origins of early Mexican film-making is generally associated with Salvador Toscano Barragán, who introduced the filmed reportage. In 1898 Toscano made the country's first film with a plot, titled Don Juan Tenorio. During the Mexican Revolution, Toscano recorded several clips of the battles, which would become a full-length documentary in 1950 title Memories of a Mexican, assembled by his daughter. Other short films were either created or influenced from French film-makers.
By 1906, 16 movie theaters opened their doors to accommodate the popularity of cinema in Mexico City. Carpas, or tent shows, were popular beginning in 1911 where lower-class citizens would perform picaresque humor and theatrical plays, a place for training for aspiring actors. Politically affiliated films appearing in 1908, often deemed propagandistic by today's terms. Significant battles were filmed and broadcast during the revolution which fueled Mexicans' excitement in cinema. In addition, the first intents to formalize the Mexican cinematic industry were made between 1905 and 1906, with the creation of the first Mexican distributing companies. Some of the most important companies were Empresa Cinematográfica Mexicana, American Amusement Company, Compañía Explotadora de Cinematógrafos and Unión Cinematográfica.
Cinema of Mexico