ROBERT DORNHELM, INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN FILM DIRECTOR

This page is dedicated to Robert Dornhelm, who - just like his older brother, Peter - was an active ILSA swimmer until 1960, the year the Dornhelms left Timisoara to settle in Vienna. Robert went on to become an internationally known film director.

   

EMMY for ROBERT DORNHELM's ANNE FRANK

ABC's Anne Frank mini-series, directed by Robert Dornhelm, won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Mini-Series in 2001. The same work has received ten other Emmy nominations, including one for Outstanding Director.

ROBERT DORNHELM has worked with the following actors & musicians:

Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco, Lauren Bacall, Dennis Hopper, Tom Waits, Keith Carradine, Jeff Bridges, Tom Hulce, Cheech Marin, Bill Wyman, James Coburn, Max Von Sydow, Sir Ben Kingsley

REQUIEM FOR DOMINIC

To ILSA folks, Robert Dornhelm is best known as the maker of Requiem for Dominic, a high-impact movie depicting people we know and events that have affected us all.

 

REQUIEM FOR DOMINIC

Made in 1990, immediately after Romania's bloody revolution, the movie's focal point is the story of Dominic Paraschiv, who lost his life in Timisoara under tragic circumstances, during the utterly confusing days of the revolution. The movie seamlessly combines staged scenes with documentary footage shot live in December 1989, as events were unfolding. Particularly stirring is the real video footage showing Dominic in his hospital bed, not long before his untimely end. Another highlight is the real Codruta Sala's cameo appearance at the tail end of the movie. 

Dominic married Sala Codruta in the late 60s. As far as we know, they met in Bucharest, during Romania's swimming national championship finals, circa 1966, when Dominic approached Codruta with a bouquet of flowers. During the 70s, Dominic, who was quite an athlete himself, acted as Codruta's assistant coach.

MEETING ROBERT DORNHELM

In the United States, Requiem for Dominic was first featured in 1991, at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. This event produced a memorable reunion of four ILSA folks: Kun Gyuri, who flew in from Toronto, Peter Goldstein and Gabe Bohm, both from Southern California, and the man himself, Robert Dornhelm.

In spite of having had a busy evening, Robert spent quite a bit of time with us, answered all our questions and offered to give us a complimentary video tape of the movie. True to his word, a few months later, Robert was gracious enough to mail us the movie.

A second meeting with Robert, this time at UCLA's prestigious film making school, occurred in 1992. The occasion: yet another public presentation of Requiem for Dominic, as part of a "Meet the Director" series.

ROBERT DORNHELM LINKS

    For additional information, just run an Internet search for Robert Dornhelm - there's plenty more out there!

 Back to top