Gabriel Veyre (February 1, 1871 - January 13, 1936) was an early film director and photographer born in France, but mainly known for his work in Mexico, Indochina and Morocco.

Gabriel Veyre
A self-portrait taken in 1898 with the Lumière Trichrome process
Born
Gabriel Antoine Veyre

(1871-02-01)February 1, 1871
DiedJanuary 13, 1936(1936-01-13) (aged 64)
Occupation(s)Filmmaker, photographer
Years active1896 - 1936

Biography

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Veyre graduated in pharmacy from Lyon University. In 1896, he traveled along with Claude Ferdinand Bon Bernard to Latin America, in order to show the early films made by the Lumière Brothers and to exploit the cinematograph.

Between 1896 and 1897, he directed and produced 35 films in Mexico, with Von Bernard as the camera operator. Many of those films feature the Mexican president Porfirio Díaz in daily activities.

After leaving Mexico, he continued touring Canada, Japan, China and Indochina. His films and autochromes were presented in Paris in the 1900 Exposition Universelle.

 
A film shot by Gabriel Veyre in French Indochina (current Vietnam) depicting two French women tossing Sapèques into a crowd of Annamite (Vietnamese) children.

He continued his work in Morocco where he also worked as a correspondent for L'Illustration. He published the book Dans l'intimité du Sultan in 1905. Veyre remained in Casablanca until his death in 1936.

Some of his work is preserved at the Paris-based Cinémathèque Française.

Bibliography

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  • Gabriel Veyre, Dans l'intimité du Sultan, au Maroc 1901-1905, reissued in 2009, 251p.
  • Philippe Jacquier et Marion Pranal, Gabriel Veyre, opérateur Lumière - Autour du monde avec le Cinématographe -Correspondance (1896–1900), éd. Institut Lumière / Actes Sud, 1996, 289p.
  • Farid Abdelouahab, Philippe Jacquier et Marion Pranal, Le Maroc de Gabriel Veyre : 1901-1936, Kubik Editions, 2005, 191p. ISBN 978-2-35083-018-6
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