Ferdinand Zecca (1864–1947) was a cafe entertainer before switching to film in his mid-30s. His film career first film as a director was Le Muet mélomane in 1899. He is among the early directors of French cinema. He also acted, produced, and on occasion wrote films. He co-directed La Vie et la passion de Jésus Christ (1905) which is among the first featured length films about Jesus. The film is 44 minutes long, but this was classed as feature length for the era. His last film was in 1919 and he directed over 80 films in total.
