Detlef Sierck was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1897 and died in Lugano, Switzerland in 1987. He spent his childhood years in Hamburg and in his parents’ native country of Denmark before starting a career in theater in Germany. He was later hired by Universum Film AG (UFA), making his full-length debut with April, April! (1935) and directing films such as Schlussakkord (Final Accord, 1936) and La Habanera (1937). Joining numerous other European filmmakers who fled from Nazi Germany, Sirk soon attracted notice in America with Hitler's Madman (1943) and Summer Storm (1944) and began to establish himself in the industry, mainly with thrillers and dramas, but venturing occasionally into other genres such as the western (Taza, Son of Cochise, 1954). After changing his name to Douglas Sirk, in the early 1950s he signed for Universal and in 1953, with All I Desire, began the great cycle of melodramas – including titles such as Magnificent Obsession (1954), All That Heaven Allows (1955), Written on the Wind (1956) and Imitation of Life (1959) – that would later gain critical acclaim in Europe for their skillful examinations of American society, hallmarked by an anti-realist gaze, exquisite aesthetic refinement and unprecedented feminist sensibility.

After returning to Europe, Sirk settled in Switzerland, in Lugano, working again for the theater in Germany and teaching at the Munich-based Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen (HFFM), where he supervised the completion of three short films.