Alfred C. Abadie


Alfred Camille Abadie was an American photographer and pioneer filmmaker who worked for Thomas Edison. He specialized in actuality films, a predecessor to the standard form of documentary.

Biography

A New York City native, Abadie began as camera assistant to James H. White at the Edison Studio around 1898. In 1903, Edison sent Abadie to Europe, the Middle East and North Africa to make actuality films. This is thought to possibly have been an attempt to keep up with similar subjects popularized by the Lumières. Abadie returned to the United States and kept making similar films for Edison through at least 1904. After leaving Edison, Abadie continued to work as a freelance filmmaker and photographer. He made educational and industrial films, including Birth, which is the first film of the birth of a baby.

Selected filmography

As a cinematographer