Born in Antofagasta, Chile in 1940, he had to leave his homeland after the 1973 military putsch and lived in exile in West Berlin. There the writer wrote screenplays, including for Peter Lilienthal and Christian Ziewer, and made four films of his own, among them Mit brennender Geduld (1983). Its remake Il postino (1994) made the material and its author world famous. Antonio Skármeta returned to Chile in 1989. From 2000 to 2003, he served as Chile’s ambassador to Germany.

Source: 73. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)