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, p ...
.
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 its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
and has appeared in more than 130 films and television shows since 1968. His debut film as a director, ''
Treffen in Travers'', 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 written and directed by Michael Gwisdek. It was entered into the 48th Berlin International Film Festival
The 48th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held fro ...
'' was entered into the
48th Berlin International Film Festival
The 48th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 11 to 22 February 1998. The festival opened with the Irish film ''The Boxer'' by Jim Sheridan. Francis Ford Coppola's '' The Rainmaker'' was selected as the closing night film. Th ...
.
The following year, he won the
Silver Bear for Best Actor
The Silver Bear for Best Actor (german: Silberner Bär/Bester Darsteller) was an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival from 1956 to 2020. It was given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance and was chosen by ...
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
Corinna Harfouch (; née Meffert; 16 October 1954) is a German actress.
Life and work
Harfouch was born in Suhl, East Germany, the daughter of the teacher Wolfgang Meffert and his wife Marianne (née Kleber). She worked as a nurse and studi ...
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
Robert Gwisdek (rapper name Käptn Peng) (born 29 January 1984) is a German actor and musician.
He is the son of the actors Michael Gwisdek and Corinna Harfouch
Corinna Harfouch (; née Meffert; 16 October 1954) is a German actress.
Lif ...
(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
''Jadup and Boel'' (german: Jadup und Boel) is a 1980 East German drama film directed by Rainer Simon. It was entered into the 16th Moscow International Film Festival in 1989.
Cast
* Kurt Böwe as Jadup
* Katrin Knappe as Boel Martin
* Gudrun R ...
'' (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)Just for Horror
Just or JUST may refer to:
__NOTOC__ People
* Just (surname)
* Just (given name)
Arts and entertainment
* ''Just'', a 1998 album by Dave Lindholm
* Just (song), "Just" (song), a song by Radiohead
* "Just", a song from the album ''Lost and Found ( ...
'' (1987- produced)
* '' Treffen in Travers'' (1988 - directed)Pestalozzi's Mountain
''Pestalozzi's Mountain'' (german: Pestalozzis Berg) is a 1989 East German–Swiss drama film directed by Peter von Gunten. The film is a biopic about the life of Swiss educator Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi. It was entered into the 39th Berlin I ...
'' (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
''Herzlich willkommen'' (English titles: ''Crossing Borders'' or ''Welcome Indeed!'') is a 1990 West German drama film directed by Hark Bohm. It was entered into the 40th Berlin International Film Festival.
Cast
* Uwe Bohm as Friedrich Dombr ...]