Directing
André Girard
Born 1901-05-25 · Chinon, Indre-et-Loire, France
André Girard, French painter of religious subjects and a professor of art at Queensborough Community College in Bayside, Queens, was noted for his technique of painting on 70-mm. film, not in separate pictures but in a continuous sequence. He called it "painting on light." When the film is projected, the translucent images seem to flow from one into the next. Mr. Girard was a native of Chinon, France. While a student at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, he met Georges Rouault, the celebrated artist, and studied under him from 1918 until Rouault died in 1952. In 1959, he said in an interview with John P. Shanley in The New York Times: "There are several steps in my work. First I draw on trans- parent paper. Then, using 70- mm. film over a light box, I paint in black and white. After that I paint on film in color. We shoot what I have done in 35-mm. film. "Movement is my main concern. There is so little room in which to work on the film. In composing each picture I have to consider the speed of the projector. After the filming has been completed, I cannot cut it because then the effect of long sequences would be lost." Shown on Television Mr. Girard is represented in the permanent collections of the French State Museum and other museums in Europe and in the United States and his work has been exhibited in this country. His 70-mm. film on the Nativity was presented nationally on television by Hallmark in December, 1959. During World War II, he served in the French underground and, in appreciation of this war service, President Harry S. Truman presented him with the Legion of Merit. Mr. Girard taught art at City College here from 1957 to 1959 and at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland from 1947 to 1949.
Acting credits
Behind the camera
The attempt of a young hairdresser to act in a serious film with his chosen co star , recognized during the shooting as inept, is mistakenly taken by the audience to be deliberately comic.
Baleydier
1932
7.3Cashier Maurice Legrand is married to the wretched Adele. By chance, he meets Lucienne, 'Lulu', and makes her his mistress. He thinks he has finally found love, but Lulu is a streetwalker, still in love with her pimp.
La Chienne
1931
"Abraham," a 75-minute color film depicting the Biblical story, was given its first public showing Saturday night at Queensborough Community College in Bayside, Queens. The movie was produced for the State of Israel, marking its 20th anniversary, by André Girard, the French painter of religious subjects and a professor of art at the school, who died in September. Mr. Girard made the film by applying color directly on film. The artist has gained a considerable reputation for film work in this genre. In "Abraham," a horizontal flow of images, broken by close-ups of the main figures, tells the story as a narrator recites the Biblical text.
Abraham
1968
Mr. Girard will not be seen on the program. But twelve minutes of the production will be devoted to his illustrations for the Nativity story, which will be recited by Judith Anderson. The artist's contribution consists of about 300 Nativity scenes, which will be projected in motion picture form. The technique is one that he devised after years of work.
The Story of the Nativity
1959
Both this film and The Passion and Resurrection introduce the new technique of painting directly on film—a technique that provides images of unique quality and illumination. The process was developed by the great French religious painter, Andre Girard, whom NCCM commissioned to do both films.
The Sermon on the Mount
1959
The New York Times called this “a prodigious work of inspiring quality,” when it was first shown over CBS television in 1959. Using the same technique as SERJVION ON THE MOUNT, this film tells of the events that took place on the first Holy Thursday through Christ’s Ascension 40 days after Easter. THE PASSION AND RESURRECTION is narrated by Right Reverend Monsignor John J. Dougherty, and features a musical score performed by Jean Casadesus and Daniel Guilet.
The Passion and Resurrection
1959