Ferdinand Zecca
- Category : 1864-births
- Type : MGE
- Profile : 6/2 - Role Model / Hermit
- Definition : Split - Small (22,32)
- Incarnation Cross : LAX Industry 1
Biography
French pioneering film director, film producer, actor and screenwriter, who worked primarily for the Pathé company, first in artistic endeavours then in administration of the internationally-based company.
Zecca explored many themes from the mundane to the fantastic. In À la conquête de l'air (1901), a strange flying machine, called Fend-l'air, was seen flying over the rooftops of Belleville. By using trick photography, the one-minute short was notable in being the first aviation film, predating the flight by the Wright Brothers by two years.
Zecca also pioneered one of the first crime dramas, Histoire d'un crime (1901), stylistically innovative in its use of superimposition. The story was of a man condemned to death, awaiting execution with his crimes appearing on his cell wall. The film is an early example of flashbacks as a film device.
Zecca died on 23 March 1947, aged 83, in Saint-Mandé, France.