André Libik

André Libik (born February 25, 1932, in Budapest, Hungary) is a film producer, director and writer. After World War 2 his father Albert Libik, who was an influential businessman in Budapest, sent him to an elite boarding school located in Switzerland. Returning to Budapest, first he studied chemistry upon the wish of his father and older brother George Libik, but later enrolled in the Hungarian Film School. He left Hungary in 1956, after the Hungarian Revolution. He settled in Paris with his wife and two daughters as a refugee. There he directed his first films for the French Red Cross, unpaid. After his successful application as Head of the Film Division in the Nigerian Ministry of Information, he lived in Africa for three years and produced films, one of which won the Silver Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival. In 1963 he moved to Germany and worked for television, established his own film production company, creating many documentaries, TV and feature films. He was awarded the “Grimme-Preis”, the top German TV award. In 1992, he settled in Hungary again, continued to produce films and won the “Golden Butterfly Award”.

André Libik attended elementary school in Budapest, secondary schools in Budapest, Sárospatak (Hungary) and later in Zugerberg (Switzerland). In 1951 and 1952, he was a student of the Hungarian Film School, which he had to leave for political reasons. From 1952 to 1956 he translated works by Jean Anouilh, Georges Sadoul and Béla Balázs into Hungarian. In 1956, he participated in the Hungarian Uprising and had to leave the country with his family. He later then established himself in Paris.

From 1957 to 1960, André Libik wrote and directed three short films financed by the French Red Cross: Un Homme dans l'Inhumanité (about Imre Nagy), Sans Passeport and Terre Retrouvée (both about refugees). 1960-62, he was Head of the Film Division, Ministry of Information, Nigeria. He wrote, directed and produced a newsreel, and various documentaries there.

In 1962, as head of the Nigerian delegation to the Berlin Film Festival, he won the "Silver Bear Award" for "The Ancestors", a documentary film written, directed and produced by him. He settled in West Berlin and from 1962 to 1972, he wrote, directed and produced numerous TV films for German, French and US television (see filmography).

He settled in Munich 1972, became a German citizen, and created his own production company "André Libik Filmproduktion" in Munich and Berlin. From 1972 to 1992, he wrote, directed and/or produced many films for German TV, became a specialist for international co-productions. André Libik won various international and German TV awards, is also a founding member of the German Association of Film and TV Producers and member of the German Union of Film Directors. In 1992, he resettled in Hungary and resumed Hungarian citizenship. He continued to produce films, but also represented German companies and became one of the initiators and managers of the "ALFA TV" project.

In 1994, he was the first Hungarian to receive the "European Order of Merit" in the European Parliament in Brussels. In 1996, he became Knight of the Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights of Malta and representative of the "European Order of Merit" in Hungary. As a member of the European Film Academy, he also received the “Golden Butterfly Prize" of the Hungarian Ministry of Culture.

Between the years 1997 and 2000, he was Director for International Affairs of the United Nations European Economic Commission’s Regional Centre in Budapest. In 1998, he became Knight Commander of the Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights of Malta. From 1999 to 2001, he was Line Producer of various major German TV productions and in 2000 he published his autobiography “Pretty Girls and Terrorists”, which received considerable critical acclaim.

From 2002 to 2006, he was the Director for International Affairs of the Central and East European Institute for Environmental Development. In 2006, the second edition of “Pretty Girls and Terrorists” was published. In 2007, he became Director for International Affairs of the Széchenyi Scientific Society and between 2008 and 2010, he was Secretary General of this Society.

1973: Einmal Urwald und zurück("Return Ticket to the Jungle") Documentary about an "Adventure Holiday" (ARD - German TV)

Pretty Girls and Terrorists was written by André Libik and published in 2000. The book is an autobiography and describes many parts of his life. It has received considerable critical acclaim. In 2006 the second edition of Pretty Girls and Terrorists was published.