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Constant Girel
Seyssel (Ain)
Constant Girel was the son of a pharmacist and studied the subject at Lyon, at which time his brother-in-law was employed at the Lumière factory. He was taken on as a Lumière oper…
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Constant Girel was the son of a pharmacist and studied the subject at Lyon, at which time his brother-in-law was employed at the Lumière factory. He was taken on as a Lumière operator some time in 1896, filming for them in Germany in September of that year, when he made contact with Ludwig Stollwerck and filmed Tsar Nikolas II's inspection of the German army at Breslau. It was the Stollwerk connection that no doubt led him to Switzerland, where he worked for another Lumière representative, Henri Lavanchy-Clarke, before filming the Tsar again towards the end of the year at Cherbourg and Chalons. On 6 December he left for Japan, arriving at Kobe on 9 January 1897, where he met up with the Lumière representative for Japan, Inabata Katsutaro. The pair then inaugurated the cinema in Japan with a program at Osaka's Nanchi Theatre on 15 February 1897. Girel's competence as a cameraman has been questioned, but he filmed a wide number of Japanese scenes, many of which ended up in the Lumière catalog. He returned to France after a year, being replaced by Gabriel Veyre, approached Pathé Frères but failed to find further work in film, and returned to pharmacy.
Filmography
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1898
Un pont à Kyoto
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1898
Procession shintoïste
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1898
Lutteurs japonais
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1898
Danseuses japonaises : la danse des ombrelles
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1898
Danseuses japonaises : la danse des éventails
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1897
Japanese Sword Fencing
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1897
Les Aïnos à Yeso, [II]
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1897
Les Aïnos à Ueso, [I]
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1897
Coolies in Saigon
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1897
Japanese Actors: Wig Exercise
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1897
Une scène au théâtre japonais
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1897
Acteurs japonais : danse d’homme
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1897
Chutes du Rhin vues de près
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1897
Bersagliers
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1897
Une rue à Tokyo
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1897
Acteurs japonais : bataille au sabre
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1897
Dîner japonais
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1897
Repas en famille
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1897
Arrivée d'un train
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1897
Sortie d’un temple shintoïste
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1897
Déchargement dans un port
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1896
Roi et Reine d'Italie
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- 1896
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1896
Cherbourg : débarquement des souverains russes
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1896
Chutes du Rhin vues de loin
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1896
Défilé du 8e bataillon
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1896
Woodcutters
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1896
Danse Tyrolienne
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1896
Pont de bateaux
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1896
Panorama pris d'un bateau
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1896
Pont sur le Rhin
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1896
Görlitz : revue devant Guillaume II et Nicolas II
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1896
II. Inauguration
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1896
Guillaume II et Nicolas II à cheval
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1896
III. Défilé de hussards devant Guillaume II
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1896
I. Avant l'inauguration. Arrivée des souverains
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1896
Stuttgart: 26th Dragoons Jumping Obstacles
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1896
Procession
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