Alexandre Mikhailovich Mishon (; 5 July 1858 â 5 July 1921) was a Russian photographer and cinematographer. Born to a French family in Kharkov, he started his career as a photographer and owned a photo studio in his hometown. He later settled in Baku (now Azerbaijan) and lived there for 25 years. Here, in 1898, he shot his first films using a Lumière cinematograph. Mishon is widely regarded as the pioneer of Azerbaijani cinema.