Wilfried Meichtry

Wilfried Meichtry (born February 5, 1965 in Leuk-Susten in the canton of Valais) is a Swiss historian, writer and screenwriter.

Life

After graduating from the College Spiritus Sanctus in Brig (1985), Wilfried Meichtry studied German and history at the Universities of Freiburg i. Üe. and Bern . In 1998 he received his doctorate with the historical dissertation Between Ancien Régime and Modernism: The Valais noble family von Werra with Beatrix Mesmer . After a few years as a high school teacher in Biel and Bern, he has been working as a freelance historian, writer and screenwriter since 2005.

Wilfried Meichtry became known with his books You and I - forever one. The story of the Werra siblings (2001) and the couple's biography Verliebte Feinde . Iris and Peter von Roten (2007), both of whom Werner «Swiss» Schweizer filmed for the cinema. Meichtry's books are based on meticulous research, which he then translates into narrative.

The publicist Klara Obermüller wrote in 2007 about the couple's biography Verliebte Feinde : “Wilfried Meichtry's double biography Verliebte Feinde is the brilliantly told story of two people who made their love their life plan. The author draws on a wealth of knowledge without getting lost in it. He comes very close to his characters without ever giving them away. It is Meichtry's great merit to have brought psychology and politics together in this double portrait. "

For Mani Matter -Biografie 2013 Urs Hafner wrote the Neue Zürcher Zeitung : "Wilfried Meichtry designed with considerable pull a concise as plausible picture of Mani Matter. In recent years, the author has established himself as an accomplished biographer who does not simply describe a life from cradle to grave, but uses ambitious cinematic editing techniques and risks narrative experiments. "

About “The world is wrong, not us. Katharina von Arx and Freddy Drilhon »wrote Hannes Vollmuth in 2015 in the« Süddeutsche Zeitung »:« Like a screenwriter, Meichtry interprets both threads of life, which are only actually linked after 200 pages, on a beach on Tonga. The author creates the nice feeling that Katharina von Arx and Freddy Drilhon are inexorably moving towards one another. As you know from well-crafted thrillers. "

Works

Books

Between the Ancien Régime and the modern age: The Valais noble family von Werra , historical dissertation at the University of Bern with Prof. Dr. B. Mesmer, Visp 2001.
Do you remember: Leuk , photo book with texts, Visp 2002.
The Villa Favorite in Bern , art historical guide (together with Daniel Hagi), Bern 2005.
You and I - one forever. The story of the Werra siblings , documentary narrative, Eichborn Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2001; New edition by Ammann Verlag, Zurich 2006.
The village photographer Arnold Zwahlen , editor and author, photo book with texts, Benteli Verlag, Bern-Wabern 2006.
Margrit and Ernst Baumann: Seeing the world , editor and author, photo book with texts, Scheidegger and Spiess, Zurich 2010.
Hexenplatz and Killerstein. The stories from the magical Pfynwald , stories, Nagel and Kimche, Zurich 2010.
Mani Matter 1936–1972 , catalog for the exhibition of the same name in the Swiss National Museum, Zurich 2011.
Mani Matter , literary biography, Nagel & Kimche, Zurich 2013.
Enemies in love. Iris and Peter von Roten , literary biography, Ammann Verlag, Zurich 2007 / new edition of Nagel & Kimche, Zurich 2012 / French translation Amours ennemies. Iris et Peter von Roten , Edition Monographic, Sierre 2014.
The world is wrong - not us. Katharina von Arx and Freddy Drilhon , Nagel and Kimche, Zurich 2015.
From shoe polish to liquid tool. Blaser Swisslube AG - a family company from Hasle-Rüegsau. A company history. Stämpfli Verlag, Bern 2016.

Filmography

Co-author of the feature documentary Von Werra , 2002; Director: Werner Schweizer; broadcast in cinemas in Switzerland and Germany as well as on television.
Screenwriter of the movie Feinde in love , 2013; Director: Werner Schweizer; nominated for the Swiss Film Prize 2013.
Participant in the Munich-Zurich script workshop at the Munich Film School, 2014–2015.
Head of the script group for the school film Der Tag ist noch Fern , Gymnasium Muristalden, 2014. Direction: Katharina Ramser, Roman Droux; broadcast on Swiss television in 2015.
Screenplay and direction of the cinema documentary Until the End of Dreams ; Production: DokLab Bern, 2018 .; Winner Suisa Swiss Film Music Award 2017, nomination Dok. German 33rd Dok.Fest München 2018; Nomination Prix du Public Solothurn Film Festival 2018.

Exhibitions

Turning times. The Barons von Werra in the 19th and 20th centuries . Special exhibition of the Cantonal Museum of History, Sion 2002.
Arnold Zwahlen, Leuk village photographer, photographic exhibition in Leuk, 2002.
The village photographer. The work of Arnold Zwahlen , Martigny Media Center, 2007–2008.
Passion and contradiction. Iris and Peter von Roten , traveling exhibition shown in Basel, St.Gallen and Brig, 2007–2009.
Mani Matter 1936–1972 , Swiss National Museum Zurich 2011–2012.

Awards and grants

2002: Culture Prize of the Canton of Valais.
2003: Film Prize of the Canton of Zurich for the Werra feature documentary film .
2003: Three-year scholarship from the Swiss National Science Foundation for the book project Iris and Peter von Roten .
2007: Book Prize of the Canton of Bern for the literary biography Verliebte Feinde. Iris and Peter von Roten .
2010: Rünzi Prize of the Canton of Valais for the literary work.
2011: Foreign scholarship in Paris in the canton of Bern.
2014: Screenplay Award for Feinde in Love from the Zurich Film Foundation.
2014: Scholarship for the script workshop Munich, University of Film and Television, Munich 2014–2015.
2015: Script Talent Award from the script workshop in Munich for the script The Wrong Life .
2018: Writing grant from the Canton of Bern for the novel project “Jean Donazzolo”.
2018: Work grant from the Canton of Valais
2019: Six-month foreign scholarship in London from the Swiss cultural foundation Landis and Gyr.

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ Until the end of dreams. In: doklab.com. Retrieved August 4, 2018 .

personal data
SURNAME	Meichtry, Wilfried
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Swiss historian, writer and screenwriter
DATE OF BIRTH	February 5, 1965
PLACE OF BIRTH	Leuk-Susten , Canton of Valais

[1] Until the end of dreams. In: doklab.com. Retrieved August 4, 2018 .