Editing Vilnius (section)

===Cinema===
{{see also|Cinema of Lithuania}}
[[File:Billboard of the first cinema screening in Vilnius (1897).jpg|thumb|alt=Exterior of the Botanical Garden gate|Billboard above the Botanical Garden main gate of the first film screening in Vilnius (1896)]]
The first public [[film session]] in Vilnius was held in the Botanical Garden (now the [[Bernardinai Garden]]) in July 1896. It was held after 1895 film sessions by [[Auguste and Louis Lumière]] in Paris. The session in Vilnius showed the Lumière brothers' [[documentary]] films. The first films shown were educational, filmed outside Vilnius (in India and Africa), and introduced other cultures. [[Georges Méliès]]' film, ''[[A Trip to the Moon]]'', was first shown at the [[Lukiškės Square]] movie theater in 1902; it was the first [[feature film]] shown in Vilnius.<ref name="cinemaLRT">{{cite web |title=Vilniaus kino istorija: pirmasis seansas tik pusmečiu atsiliko nuo pirmojo istorijoje |url=https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/tavo-lrt/15/120792/vilniaus-kino-istorija-pirmasis-seansas-tik-pusmeciu-atsiliko-nuo-pirmojo-istorijoje |website=[[Lrt.lt]] |access-date=22 September 2019 |language=lt |date=27 November 2015}}</ref>

The first [[movie theater]] in Vilnius, Iliuzija (Illusion), opened in 1905 at 60 [[Didžioji Street]].<ref name="cinemaMIV">{{cite web |title=Vilniaus kino teatrai 1905–1985 metais |url=https://madeinvilnius.lt/vilniaus-istorija/senasis-vilnius/vilniaus-kino-teatrai-1905-1985-metais/ |website=MadeinVilnius.lt |access-date=22 September 2019 |language=lt-LT |date=1 May 2017}}</ref> The first movie theaters, similar to theatres, had [[Box (theatre)|boxes]] with more-expensive seats. Because early films were silent, showings were accompanied by orchestral performances. Cinema screenings were sometimes combined with theatrical performances and illusion shows.<ref name="cinemaLRT" />

[[File:LTMKM 2023 by Augustas Didzgalvis.jpg|thumb|alt=A large, white, two-story building|The [[Lithuanian Theater, Music and Cinema Museum]], in the 17th-century [[Minor Radvilos Palace]]]]
On 4 June 1924, the Vilnius [[magistrate]] established a 1,200-seat movie theater in the city hall ({{langx|pl|Miejski kinematograf}}, City Movie Theater) to provide cultural education for students and adults. In 1926, 502,261 tickets were sold; 24,242 tickets were given to boarding children, 778 to tourists, and 8,385 to soldiers. In 1939, Lithuanian authorities renamed it Milda. The last city government gave it to the People's Commissariat of Education, which established the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society, the following year.<ref name="cinemaMIV" />

In 1965, Lithuania's most modern movie theater ([[:lt:Lietuva (kino teatras)|Lietuva]]) opened in Vilnius; it had over 1.84&nbsp;million visitors per year, and an annual profit of over 1&nbsp;million&nbsp;[[Soviet rouble|rouble]]s. After reconstruction, it had one of Europe's largest screens: {{convert|200|m2|sqft}}.<ref name="cinemaMIV" /> Closed in 2002, it was demolished in 2017 and replaced by MO Museum.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vilniuje neliko istorinio kino teatro "Lietuva" |url=https://www.15min.lt/verslas/naujiena/kvadratinis-metras/nekilnojamasis-turtas/vilniuje-neliko-istorinio-kino-teatro-lietuva-973-767800 |website=15min.lt |access-date=22 September 2019 |language=lt}}</ref> Kino Pavasaris is the city's largest film festival.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Festival |url=https://kinopavasaris.lt/en/about-festival |website=kinopavasaris.lt |access-date=14 October 2019 |archive-date=15 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015183847/https://kinopavasaris.lt/en/about-festival |url-status=dead}}</ref> The Lithuanian Film Centre ({{langx|lt|Lietuvos kino centras}}), tasked with promoting the development and competitiveness of the Lithuanian film industry, is in Vilnius.<ref>{{cite web |title=About us |url=http://www.lkc.lt/en/lithuanian-film-center/ |website=lkc.lt |access-date=22 September 2019}}</ref>