Films A-Z

Franz Osten, Germany

Franz Ostermayr was born in Munich in 1876 and aspired to be a photographer like his father. In 1907 he founded a travelling cinema called Original-Physograph Company, together with his brother Peter. Peter later founded the predecessor of Bavaria Studios, which is one of the largest film studios in Germany today.

One of the first films that Osten screened was a short documentary called Life in India. A few years later he met London-based lawyer Himanshu Rai, with whom he collaborated on some …