
Constant Girel
Biography
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.
Directing (36 movies)

Cherbourg: Entrée des souverains russes et du président de la République sous le hall
1896
Cherbourg : débarquement des souverains russes
1896

Pont sur le Rhin
1896

Procession, I
1897

Danse Tyrolienne
1896
Chutes du Rhin vues de près
1897
Bersagliers
1897
Görlitz : revue devant Guillaume II et Nicolas II
1896
Dîner japonais
1897
III. Défilé de hussards devant Guillaume II
1896
Yokohama : déchargement dans un port
1897
I. Avant l'inauguration. Arrivée des souverains
1896

Guillaume II et Nicolas II à cheval
1896
Un pont à Kyoto
1898
Acteurs japonais : danse d’homme
1897
Procession shintoïste
1898
Arrivée d’un train à Nagoya
1897

Danseuses japonaises : la danse des ombrelles
1898
Les Aïnos à Yeso, [II]
1897
Une scène au théâtre japonais
1897

Sortie d’un temple shintoïste
1897

Lutteurs japonais
1898
Japanese Sword Fencing
1897
Repas en famille
1897
![Les Aïnos à Ueso, [I]](https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w200/LnOUmut2AahNLuOWouasAZsD3d.jpg)
Les Aïnos à Ueso, [I]
1897
Japanese Actors: Wig Exercise
1900

Acteurs japonais : bataille au sabre
1897

Une rue à Tokyo
1897
Coolies in Saigon
1897

Pont de bateaux
1896

Panorama pris d'un bateau
1896
Woodcutters
1896

Roi et Reine d'Italie
1896
II. Inauguration
1896
Chutes du Rhin vues de loin
1896
Défilé du 8e bataillon
1896
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