Antonio Skármeta

Antonio Skármeta, born November 7, 1940 in Antofagasta is a Chilean writer and director with Croatian ancestors. He taught literature at the Universidad de Santiago de Chile. After the military coup in 1973 he had to leave his country and lived in exile in West-Berlin. He wrote screenplays for German films, among others for Peter Lilienthal. Skármeta returned in 1989 back to Chile. From 2000 to 2003 he served as the Chilean ambassador in Germany. His 1984 novel and film "Mit brennender Geduld" (Ardiente paciencia) inspired the movie "Il Postino" by Michael Radford. The film "No" by Pablo Larraín from the year 2012 is based on the unpublished play "El Plebiscito" from Antonio Skármeta. He now lives in Santiago de Chile.