Bernhard Wicki (28 October 1919 – 5 January 2000) was an Austrian-Swiss actor, film director and screenwriter. He was a key figure in the revitalization of post-war German-language cinema, particularly in West Germany, and also directed several Hollywood films.[1]
Wicki studied in the city of Breslau such topics as art history, history and German literature. In 1938, he transferred to the drama school of the Staatliches Schauspielhaus in Berlin. In 1939, because of his membership in the Bündische Jugend, he was imprisoned for many months in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. After his release, he moved to Vienna, then in 1944 to Switzerland.
Wicki was a patron of the International Film Festival in Emden-Norderney, which first started in 1990.
Wicki first married Agnes Fink, a fellow acting colleague, and later married Elisabeth Endriss, also a colleague. In the documentary Verstörung – und eine Art von Poesie (June 2007), Elisabeth Wicki-Endriss portrayed Wicki's life and work.
Wicki is buried at the Nymphenburger cemetery in Munich (grave number 4-1-23).
In 2001, the Bernhard Wicki Memorial Fund was established in Munich. Since 2002, it has awarded a yearly prize, The Bridge, to selected films that promote peace. A further prize of 15,000 euros, endowed in 2006, is presented in his name in the city of Emden.
Peter Zander: Bernhard Wicki. Bertz + Fischer Verlag, Berlin 1995, 2. überarbeitete Auflage, ISBN3-929470-04-7
Richard Blank: Jenseits der Brücke. Bernhard Wicki. Ein Leben für den Film, 1999 ISBN3-430-11473-X
Andreas Weber (ed.): Er kann fliegen lassen. Gespräche und Texte über Bernhard Wicki. Literaturedition Niederösterreich, St. Pölten 2000, ISBN3-901117-47-4
Filmfestival Nordrhein-Westfalen (Hrsg.): Sanftmut und Gewalt – Der Regisseur und Schauspieler Bernhard Wicki. Filmographie, Biographie, Essays, Interview. Mit Beiträgen von Robert Fischer (Vorwort), Alexander Kluge, Laurens Straub, Wilhelm Roth, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Hans Abich, Gunther Witte, Hermann Barth. edition filmwerkstatt, Essen 2004, ISBN3-9807175-6-9
Inka Graeve Ingelmann (Hrsg.): Bernhard Wicki. Fotografien. Dumont Literatur und Kunst Verlag, Köln 2005, Gebunden, ISBN3-8321-7570-9, Ausstellungskatalog
Elisabeth Endriss-Wicki: Die Filmlegende Bernhard Wicki. Verstörung – und eine Art von Poesie. Henschel Verlag, Berlin 2007, ISBN978-3-89487-589-3
Michel Quint, "Die schrecklichen Gärten". btb-Verlag 2002, ISBN3-442-75068-7 (Übersetzung von Elisabeth Edl), Original edition: "Effroyables Jardins", Editions Joelle Losfeld, Paris 2000
