Emil Berna

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Emil Berna (left), next to Walter Mittelholzer (1934)
Emil Berna (presumably) on Walter Mittelholzer's flight to Abyssinia
Emil Berna to the left of Charlie Chaplin during the filming of Ueli the Tenant (1955)

Emil Berna (born April 2, 1907 in Zurich ; †  October 16, 2000 there ) was a Swiss cameraman .

Career

As early as 1924/25 he worked as a graphic artist on the German documentary Paths to Strength and Beauty . Then he became head of the animation department of the Zurich film companies Corona Film and Turicia Film.

A little later he took over the post of second cameraman at the new Praesens-Film . In 1930 he was promoted to chief cameraman and in this role played a considerable part in the rise of Praesens-Film to become the most important Swiss film company in the 1930s and 1940s. His work was shaped by the cooperation with director Leopold Lindtberg . The integration of the alpine landscape was of great importance for Berna's camera work, with which he also contributed to the further development of mountain films .

However, after this golden era, he could not prevent the gradual decline of Swiss cinema in the 50s and 60s. Because the local cinema hardly produced any feature films, Berna last shot documentaries and industrial films before finishing his film work in 1964. He then lived most of the time in his retirement home in Spain.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Berna, Emil
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss cameraman
DATE OF BIRTH April 2, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH Zurich
DATE OF DEATH October 16, 2000
Place of death Zurich