Alexander J. Seiler

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Alexander J. Seiler (born August 6, 1928 in Zurich ; † November 22, 2018 there ) was a Swiss film director .

Life

Seiler's father was the hotelier and association official Franz Seiler (1897–1966). After graduating from high school , Seiler worked at the theater and in a film club in Zurich. He studied literature, philosophy and sociology in Basel, Paris and Munich. From 1953 to 1955 he worked in Basel as a theater, film and literary journalist. He completed his studies with a doctorate in Vienna. Between 1958 and 1960 he worked as a journalist in Zurich and Basel.

From 1961, Seiler was a filmmaker. The collaboration with Rob Gnant and his wife June Kovach led to the establishment of Seiler und Gnant-Filmproduktion in 1962 . The film Siamo Italiani! made him "the pioneer of a new, political documentary film in Switzerland, which after 1968 found an astonishing bloom that continues to this day." From 1965 on, Seiler was also active in film politics. a. as secretary of the Association of Swiss Film Designers and as a founding member of the Swiss Film Center and as President of the Film Council (1976/77). In 1971 he became a member of Nemo-Film. In addition, he developed various journalistic activities, for example from 1967 to 1969 he wrote regular film columns for Weltwoche .

Seiler died in November 2018 at the age of 90 in Zurich. He leaves behind his partner Katharina Bürgi and two daughters.

Seiler's estate is kept by the documentation center of the Cinémathèque suisse in Zurich.

Filmography (selection)

  • 1961: On a white background
  • 1962: On an alternating gradient
  • 1964: Development aid
  • 1964: Siamo italiani (documentary, 75 min.)
  • 1966: Mixtures
  • 1966: During the year
  • 1967: ... via Zurich
  • 1968: Music competition (TV documentary, 72 min.)
  • 1968: Fifteen
  • 1971: Our teacher (book: Peter Bichsel , 48 min.)
  • 1974: Whoever Lies Once or Victor and Upbringing (documentary, 68 min.)
  • 1977: The fruits of labor (documentary, 145 min.)
  • 1979: The kiss on the hand - A fairy tale from Switzerland (TV; based on the story Der Schlossherr aus England by Friedrich Glauser )
  • 1981: Wrath or Man's Business / Mortal Sin 6 (TV)
  • 1982: Ludwig Hohl - A film in fragments (TV documentary)
  • 1990: Palaver, Palaver (to Switzerland without an army? A Palaver by Max Frisch , 90 min.)
  • 1992: When There's War at Home (TV Documentary)
  • 1995: The dirtier (TV documentary)
  • 1995: The Troublemaker (TV Documentary)
  • 2002: September wind (Il vento di settembre) (documentary, 110 min.)
  • 2010: Geysir and Goliath (documentary film, homage to the Swiss sculptor Karl Geiser )

Works

  • Siamo italiani. Talks with Italian workers in Switzerland . EVZ, Zurich 1965
  • Ludwig Hohl. A film in fragments and four texts . Edition Zyklop, Zurich 1982
  • Written next to it from 1958–2007 . Hier + now, Baden 2008, ISBN 978-3-03919-087-4

Awards

  • 1963: The Golden Palm of Cannes for the best short film (for In a Changing Gradient )
  • 1965: Zurich Film Prize
  • 1977: Zurich Film Prize
  • 1990: Zurich Film Prize
  • 2014: Honorary Award of the Swiss Film Prize

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ SRF of November 23, 2018: Swiss director died. Filmmaker Alexander J. Seiler is dead , accessed on November 23, 2018
  2. ^ Obituary in the NZZ am Sonntag of November 25, 2018, p. 25.
  3. ^ Bernard Truffer: Seiler, Franz. In: Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz .
  4. ↑ David Streiff: "Alexander J. Seiler (1928-2018), Frucht seine Arbeit", in: the weekly newspaper WOZ No. 48 of Nov. 29, 2018, p. 22.
  5. ^ Archive catalog of Alexander Seiler's paper holdings in the Cinémathèque suisse. Retrieved December 13, 2018 .
  6. ↑ Full length film at www.tagesanzeiger.ch
  7. ↑ Short film of the week: This water won the Golden Palm. Tages-Anzeiger, March 21, 2014
  8. ↑ a b c http://lexikon.ads.ch/edit/detail_a.php?id_autor=1666
  9. ↑ Swiss Film Prize: Alexander J. Seiler is awarded the honorary prize
personal data
SURNAME Seiler, Alexander J.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss film director
DATE OF BIRTH August 6, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Zurich
DATE OF DEATH 22nd November 2018
Place of death Zurich