Michael Gwisdek (14 January 1942 – 22 September 2020) was a German actor and

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

Career

He began his acting career in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...

and has appeared in more than 130 films and television shows since 1968. His debut film as a director, ''

Treffen in Travers ''Treffen in Travers'' is a 1988 German drama film directed by Michael Gwisdek. It was screened in the '' Un Certain Regard'' section at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival. Cast * Hermann Beyer as Georg Forster * Corinna Harfouch as Therese Forste ...

'', was the first East-German film screened at the

1989 Cannes Film Festival The 42nd Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 23 May 1989. The Palme d'Or went to ''Sex, Lies, and Videotape'' by Steven Soderbergh. The festival opened with ''New York Stories'', anthology film directed by Woody Allen, Francis Ford Coppola, ...

in the

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

section. His 1998 film ''

The Big Mambo ''The Big Mambo'' (german: Das Mambospiel) is a 1998 German comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally ha ...

'' was entered into the 48th Berlin International Film Festival. The following year, he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the

49th Berlin International Film Festival The 49th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 10 to 21 February 1999. The festival opened with '' Aimée & Jaguar'' by Max Färberböck. The Golden Bear was awarded to Canadian-American film '' The Thin Red Line'' directed by ...

, for his role in the film '' Nightshapes''. He married the actress Corinna Harfouch in 1985 and they divorced in 1997. They had two sons together before they married; the musician Johannes Gwisdek (born 1980) and the actor Robert Gwisdek (born 1984). He married his second wife, Gabriela, shortly after divorcing Harfouch.B.Z. - Hausbesuch bei den Gwisdeks
in B.Z., 12 September 2010. Retrieved 22 December 2018 Gwisdek died on 22 September 2020 aged 78.

Selected filmography

* '' Jadup and Boel'' (1980) * ''

Woman Doctors ''Woman Doctors'' (german: Ärztinnen) is a 1984 East German crime film directed by Horst Seemann. It was entered into the 34th Berlin International Film Festival. It is based upon the play by Rolf Hochhuth. Plot Dr. Lydia Kowalenko is fired ...

'' (1984) * ''Sansibar oder Der letzte Grund'' (1987) * '' Just for Horror'' (1987- produced) * ''

'' (1988 - directed) * '' Pestalozzi's Mountain'' (1989) * ''

Coming Out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

'' (1989)Herzlich willkommen'' (1990) * '' Walerjan Wrobel's Homesickness'' (1991) * '' The Tango Player'' (1991) * ' (1992, TV film) * ' (1994) * ' (1998) * ''

'' (1998 - directed) * '' Nightshapes'' (1999) * '' No Place to Go'' (2000) * '' Vaya con Dios'' (2002) * ''

Good Bye, Lenin! ''Good Bye Lenin!'' is a 2003 German tragicomedy film, directed by Wolfgang Becker. The cast includes Daniel Brühl, Katrin Sass, Chulpan Khamatova, and Maria Simon. The story follows a family in East Germany (GDR); the mother (Sass) is dedic ...

'' (2003) * ''

Herr Lehmann ''Herr Lehmann'' is a German novel by Sven Regener, published in 2001, adapted for the screen in 2003. It has been translated into English by John Brownjohn under the title ''Berlin Blues''. The book has sold more than 1 million copies in German ...

'' (2003) * ''

Speer und Er ''Speer und Er'' (literally "Speer and He", released as ''Speer and Hitler: The Devil's Architect'') is a three-part German docudrama starring Sebastian Koch as Albert Speer and Tobias Moretti as Adolf Hitler. It mixes historical film material wi ...

'' (2005) * ''

Pornorama ''Pornorama'' is a 2007 German comedy film directed by Marc Rothemund. The film describes the porn industry in Munich between the 60s and the 80s. Plot Cast * Tom Schilling as Bennie Köpke * Benno Fürmann as Freddie Köpke * Karoline H ...

'' (2007) * ' (2009) * '' Boxhagener Platz'' (2010) * ' (2011) * '' A Coffee In Berlin'' (2012) * '' The Silent Revolution'' (2018)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gwisdek, Michael 1942 births 2020 deaths German male film actors German male television actors East German actors Male actors from Berlin Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni Silver Bear for Best Actor winners 20th-century German male actors Film directors from Berlin German male screenwriters German Film Award winners