Marius Ely Joseph Sestier (8 September 1861 – 8 November 1928)
[ was a French ]cinematographer
The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
. Sestier was best known for his work in Australia, where he shot some of the country's first films.
Born in Sauzet, Drôme
Sauzet (; oc, Sauset) commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Drôme department
The following is a list of the 363 communes of the Drôme department of France.
The communes cooperate ...
, Sestier was a pharmacist
A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...
by profession.[ Extract a]
Sauzet en Drôme Provençale.
/ref> He was employed by early filmmakers the Lumière brothers (Auguste and Louis Lumière
The Lumière brothers (, ; ), Auguste Marie Louis Nicolas Lumière (19 October 1862 – 10 April 1954) and Louis Jean Lumière (5 October 1864 – 6 June 1948), were French manufacturers of photography equipment, best known for their ''Ciném ...
) to demonstrate their cinématographe
Cinematograph or kinematograph is an early term for several types of motion picture film mechanisms. The name was used for movie cameras as well as film projectors, or for complete systems that also provided means to print films (such as the Cin ...
abroad.Watson's Hotel
Watson's Hotel (actually Watson's Esplanade Hotel), now known as the Esplanade Mansion, located in the Kala Ghoda area of Mumbai (Bombay), is India's oldest surviving cast iron building. It is probably the oldest surviving multi-level fully cast ...
, Bombay on 7 July 1896; this was the first time moving pictures had been shown in India. Sestier also shot his own films while in Bombay, but the Lumière brothers rejected these for their catalogue as they were not satisfied with the quality as French customs had opened the package of undeveloped film.
After Sestier completed his work in India he travelled to Sydney where he met with Australian photographer Henry Walter Barnett
Henry Walter Barnett (25 January 1862 – 16 January 1934), usually known as H. Walter Barnett, was an Australian photographer and filmmaker. Barnett was a prominent portrait photographer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, establishing t ...
, who had darkroom facilities to develop films locally.
In September 1896 Sestier, Barnett and Charles Westmacott opened Australia's first cinema, the Salon Lumière in Pitt Street, Sydney
Pitt Street is a major street in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. The street runs through the entire city centre from Circular Quay in the north to Waterloo, although today's street is in two disjointed sect ...
. Sestier and Barnett began making their own films, starting with a short film of passengers disembarking from the ship ''PS Brighton
PS ''Brighton'' was a ferry used on the Sydney to Manly run. The biggest Manly ferry at the time and the largest paddle steamer to operate on Sydney Harbour, she was well-appointed and popular with passengers.
Background
In the late 1800s, the ...
'' in Manly, which was the first film shot and screened in Australia.[ most notably a film of the 1896 ]Melbourne Cup
The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melbou ...
horse race. The feature, which consisted of 10 one-minute films shown in chronological order (separate films were required due to limitations of cameras of the time),[ was premiered at the ]Princess Theatre, Melbourne
The Princess Theatre, originally Princess's Theatre, is a 1452-seat theatre in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1854 and rebuilt in 1886 to a design by noted Melbourne architect William Pitt, it is the oldest surviving entertain ...
on 19 November 1896,The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'' and '' The Bulletin'', and has been cited as Australia's first film production.[
After his business partnership with Barnett ended Sestier continued to tour Australia, demonstrating the cinématographe and showcasing films until May 1897. After returning to France he went on to become director of the Lumière Patents Company.][
]
Filmography
Australia
References
External links
Films by Marius Sestier
at Australian Screen Online
The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...
*
Marius Sestier
Lumière Catalogue
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sestier, Marius
1862 births
1928 deaths
1890s in Australian cinema
French cinematographers
French pharmacists
People from Drôme