Biography

Influential producer-director, a former actor, who came to prominence in the German cinema of the 1920's (as Friedrich Zelnik). He was the mentor of his actress-wife 'Lya Mara', whose films he promoted through their joint production company Zelnik-Mara Film GmbH. Of Jewish background, he was forced to flee from Germany in 1933 and later continued making films in Britain.

After the studies in Vienna, Friedrich Zelnik worked as an actor in theaters in Nürnberg, Aachen, Worms, Prague and finally Berlin - in the theaters Theater an der Königsgrätzer Straße, Berliner Theater, Komödienhaus.

Before he was successful as a director he made his debut for the film in 1910 as an actor in "Des Sängers Fluch" (1910).

He began to stage movies as a director in 1917.

From 1915 Friedrich Zelnik appeared also as a producer and worked in this position for the "Berliner Film-Manufaktur" first, before he founded his own company in 1920.