Albert Kirchner (1860–1902), better known under the pseudonym Léar, was a French photographer, manufacturer, exhibitor,Richard Abel
''Encyclopedia of early cinema''
Taylor & Francis, 2005, , p.518 and filmmaker who is noted for producing several religious and

erotic film Sex in film, the presentation of aspects of sexuality in film, specially human sexuality, has been controversial since the development of the medium. Films which display or suggest sexual behavior have been criticized by religious groups or hav ...

s. He was employed by

Eugène Pirou Louis Eugène Pirou (26 September 1841 – 30 September 1909) was a French photographer and filmmaker, known primarily for his portraits of celebrities and scenes from the Paris Commune. He was awarded a gold medal at the Exposition Universell ...

, a French filmmaker and photographer. Kirchner directed the first known erotic film, 1896 ''

Le coucher de la mariée ''Le coucher de la mariée'' or ''Bedtime for the Bride'' or ''The Bridegroom's Dilemma'' is a French erotic short film considered to be one of the first erotic films made. The film was first screened in Paris in November 1896, within a year of ...

'' (or ''Bedtime for the Bride''), that featured actress Louise Willy.

Film career

He also registered three patents for the film camera "Biographe Français Léar" in 1897–1898. He manufactured the camera by a company he himself founded along with two of his college-colleagues – Anthelme and Pacon. Kirchner produced and marketed two variants of "Biographe" — one for 35 mm film and the other for 60 mm film. In 1897, he arranged screenings at multiple locations that included the Oller Museum and the café Frontin in French capital Paris. In partnership with Michel Coissac, who later became a well-known film historian, Kirchner directed the film ''Passion du Christ'' (''The Passion of Christ'')Freek L. Bakker
''The challenge of the silver screen''
BRILL, 2009, in twelve scenes in 1897. Shot in Paris, it was the first film made based on the story in the Bible. The film, 5 minutes long, was shown in a large number of regions. This film created influence among contemporary film directors and many of them adopted its theme. However some people were angry over the depiction of Christ. ''Passion du Christ'' made Kirchner the first filmmaker to direct a film about the life of Christ.Clifford Thurlow
''Making short films: the complete guide from script to screen''
Berg, 2008, , p.11 Kirchner made ''Passion du Christ'' on behalf of a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

publishing company, La Bonne Presse. Researcher Stephen Bottomore in ''Who's Who of Victorian Cinema: A Worldwide Survey'' suggested Albert Kirchner may be the person behind Lear and Co., a company in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

's capital

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

, which faced prosecution for exporting pornographic pictures to Europe in the year 1901. Assuming Léar is Kirchner, in 1898 in the basement of the Olympia Theatre, he created a cinema. That same year,

Gaumont Film Company The Gaumont Film Company (, ), often shortened to Gaumont, is a French film studio headquartered in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Founded by the engineer-turned-inventor Léon Gaumont (1864–1946) in 1895, it is the oldest extant film company in ...

, a French film production company bought all of his negatives. The cinema closed shortly after this and he died.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirchner, Albert 1860 births 1902 deaths French film directors French pornographic film directors French pornographic film producers French photographers