HISTORY OF SERBIAN CINEMATOGRAPHY

By Radenko Rankovic MA, Assistant Professor of Film Production

University of Arts, Belgrade, Faculty of Dramatic Arts, email:
rsrade@eunet.yu

The first-ever public film showing in Belgrade, on 6 June 1896, marked the
start up of the film industry in the territory of the present FR of Yugoslavia. It was
only after the Second World War that as an integral part of national culture and
arts, it was equated with the traditional arts, such as literature, painting, music
and theatre, and it has been expanding ever since and encompassing the
production of all kinds of films, including everything from documentary films,
cartoons and popular science films to the feature ones. In the mid-sixties, it
clashed with a new medium, the television, and in the late eighties, with the
home video recorders/players, resulting in a decrease in the number of cinemas
and viewers. By keeping up to date on the experiences of and developments in
the international film industry, the Yugoslav film industry endeavoured to become
a part of it on an equal footing with the rest. A large number of prizes was
awarded at the various international film festivals to both films as a whole and
their authors and producers, substantiating thus the existence of a Yugoslav,
national film industry.
The basic activities were also paralleled by a number of other film-related
activities, such as: actor and personnel training, reviewing, publication of film
magazines and books, etc. In that context, particular attention is deserved by the
Yugoslav Film Archive, which has become one of the biggest and best-known
institutions of the kind in the world.
In the last hundred years, the film industry of Yugoslavia (Serbia and
Montenegro) involved many people, from pioneers to tested authors boasting a
significant film opus, as well as institutions, producers and cinemas, not to
mention the films made and preserved.

PERIOD OF TRAVELLING CINEMAS AND BEGINNING OF FILM

SHOOTING (1896-1910). The history of the film industry in the FR of Yugoslavia
began on 6 June 1896, when the agent of the Lumiere brothers, Andre Carr,
showed in a Belgrade restaurant almost the same programme as the one shown
only six month earlier in the first-ever film show in Paris. This was also the first-
ever film show in the Balkans. The first film shows were made in Novi Sad in
November of the same year and in Subotica, in May 1897. The first travelling
cinema reached Montenegro (Cetinje) towards the end of 1901.
The first film shooting was done by the already mentioned Andre Carr, who
shot five films during his second visit to Belgrade in March 1897. Only two of
these films were shown in public: A Streetcar Stop at Terazije (Tramvajska
stanica na Terazijama) and Workers Going Out of the Tobacco Factory (Izlazenje
radnika iz Fabrike duvana). Many other owners of travelling cinemas subsequently
shot films in what is now Yugoslavia as supplements to their repertoires, but
these films have not been preserved.
The oldest film ever shot in Serbia is The Coronation of King Peter of Serbia
(Krunisanje Kralja Petra I Karadordevica), which was made during the coronation
ceremonies in Belgrade in 1904 by the Serbian honorary consul in Sheffield Arnold
Muir Wilson and his cameraman Frank Storm Mottershaw.
All owners of the travelling cinemas were foreigners until 1900, when they
were joined also by Stojan Nanic of Zajecar, who was known as the "first-ever
Serbian magician/conjurer . The first semi-permanent cinemas appeared around
1905, when the travelling cinemas began to stay for several months in one place,
where two completely new film repertoires were presented each week. One of the
first permanent cinemas was that opened by Ernest Bosnjak in Sombor in 1906.
Permanent cinemas were opened in Subotica and Cetinje in 1908. In 1908,
Svetozar Botoric took over the whole cinema business (acquisition of films and
projectors, advertising, etc.). He wanted to expand his film showing business, as
the exclusive agent of Pathe, the then biggest and best-known filmmaking firm,
by opening for a short while cinemas in Kragujevac, Vmjacka Banja, Nis and some
other places. Later on, permanent cinemas were also opened in other towns, so
that a very keen competition developed among the cinema owners, their biggest
problem being in the fact that they had only one cinema each.
PERIOD OF DOMESTIC FILM INDUSTRY PIONEERS (1910-1914). The
start-up of film-making was a big challenge particularly to cinema owners who
began to acquisition film cameras and shoot events of current interest. Having
opened a permanent cinema in Sombor in 1906, Ernest Bošnjak bought a film
camera in 1909 and shot then his first feature film, In the Empire of Terpsichore
(U carstvu Terpsihore), which was only 120 metres long. Of the other films shot
by him, the best-known is The Unveiling of the Monument to Ferenz Rakoczy
(Otkrivanje spomenika Ferencu Rakociju), which was made in 1912 (it is still
existent). A similar start was also made by another film pioneer in Vojvodina,
Aleksandar Lafka, who after touring the country as a travelling cinema owner for
ten years, settled down in Subotica and began to shoot various events. He also
made a feature film, A Good-humoured Blacksmith (Raspolozeni kovaè) to which
he added sound with the means of gramophone records.
Since Vojvodina was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at that time, the
true domestic film production began in Belgrade in 1911, when Svetozar Botoric,
owner of the Paris Hotel and Cinema, and Pica-Ilija Stanojevic, a great National
Theatre actor, established the Serbian Film-making Company. They managed to
make two feature films that year, Karadorde (2ivot i dela besmrtnog Vozda
Karadorda) and Ulrich of Celje and Vladislav Hunyadi (Urlih Celjski i Vladislav
Hunjadi), as well as a documentary film entitled The Gypsy 8'edding (Ciganska
svadba). The films were directed by 6ica-Ilija Stano-jevic, who also acted in them
together with his colleagues from the National Theatre. The only foreigner was the
cameraman Louis Pitrolf de Beri. In 1912, one more feature film was made in
Belgrade, The Poor Mother (Jadna majka), only this time the producers were the
Savic brothers (owners of the Modern Cinema).
Although the Balkan wars in which Serbia was involved, stopped the making of
feature films, the shooting of documentaries went on. At that time, Boka
Bogdanovic, owner of the ICasina Cinema, filmed some Balkan and then First
World War stories, which have been preserved largely. Slavko Jovanovic was one
of the film camera pioneers.
After the year 1901, the exotic setting of Montenegro attracted mostly foreign
cameramen, from Austro-Hungary and Italy. The film In the Black Hills at the
Montenegro
Prince's Court (U crnim brdima, na knjazevskom dvoru crnogorskom) was
shown in the Urania cinema of Vienna in 1902. The oldest preserved film, The
Jubilee Festivities (Jubilarne svecanosti) dates back to 1910 and it relates to the
proclamation of the Principality of Montenegro as a kingdom. There are much
more preserved films about the events in the Balkan Wars and the First World
War in particular.

FIRST WORLD WAR PERIOD (1914-1918). The First World War also
attracted a large number of cameramen to the front lines in the territory of
present Yugoslavia, and domestic ones were among them, too. Their biggest
difficulty was the acquisition of cameras and tape. Towards the end of 1916, when
the Serbian Army reorganised itself in Greece following its retreat through
Albania, the Film Section was established within the Supreme Command of the
Serbian Army. It had three departments: photographic, projectionist and artistic.
It was granted a modest amount of money towards purchasing film equipment
and tape. A lot of shooting was done and after the First World War, the material
thus obtained was used for making several documentaries, such as Breach of the
Salonica Front (Proboj Solunskog front) and The Liberation of Belgrade
(Oslobodenje Beograda)
Having acquired some experience in acting in Budapest, Vladimir Totovic
bought a camera during the First World War and made two feature films in the
autumn of 1915: The Rescuer (Spasilac) and A Detective as a Thief (Detektiv kao
lopov).

BETWEEN THE TWO WORLD WARS. Many film pioneers never came back
from war and others found it dificult to carry on their work. The film production
started up in Zagreb during the First World War was continued, but like in
Belgrade, it soon became only a sporadic one. It should be noted that before the
emergence of new film pioneers, Bosko Tokin, who was to become a distinguished
film reviewer and theorist, began to write his first film reviews for the Progres
daily.
The State Film-making Workshop was established Belgrade in the framework
of the Ministry of Public Health in 1921 on the initiative of Milutin Bata Nikolic, an
actor. It lasted until 1923 and turned out a number of health-promotion films, the
most important of which was The Tragedy of Our Children (Tragedija nase dece),
1922. Slavko Jovanovic, a Serbian film pioneer, carried on making documentaries.
Around that time, another film pioneer, Ernest Bosnjak, founded the Boer Film
company and together with a group of film enthusiasts, carried on making
newsreels and documentaries relating to the town of Sombor and its
surroundings, as well as feature films.
Although several other film companies were established in the mid-twenties
(five in Belgrade and one in Stari Becej and Subotica each), only two of them
(Novakovic Film owned by Kosta Novakovic, a Belgrade pharmacist, and Pobeda
Film, owned by Josip Novak) managed to produce some films.
Although the number of cinemas kept increasing in the then Yugoslavia
(Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes) as a whole, the best portions of Serbia
and Montenegro were still without any cinemas. At the beginning of 1927, there
were altogether 344 registered cinemas in Yugoslavia, of which 44 were in the
Belgrade district. After Zagreb, the first American sound films, A Pavement Lady
(Dama sa trotoara) followed by The White Shadows (Bele senke) and The Crazy
Singer (Ludi pevac) were shown in Belgrade towards the end of 1929.
The government showed interest in financing and organising the national film
industry and established the Jugoslovenski prosvetni film (Yugoslav Educational
Film) enterprise in Belgrade in 1931.
The enactment of the Film Distribution Law on 5 December 1931 was of great
importance for the Yugoslav film industry. Although its title relates only to film
distribution, that law also regulated the other two film industry segments and it
was particularly favourable for the film-makers. According to that law, all cinemas
in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia had to have in their repertoires at least 5% of
"cultural films' (that is what the short feature films and documentaries were
called), and what is even more important, 7% and 15% of domestic feature films
initially and as of 1933 respectively. Thus, 326 cultural and documentary films,
newsreels and domestic feature films were shown in the cinemas of the Kingdom
of Yugoslavia in 1932, which was more than produced until then in all of the
Balkan countries. In order to abide by that law and avoid being fined, the cinema
operators had in their repertoires a lot of old domestic films or those made in
great haste, so that they were inferior to foreign ones. Consequently, the cinema
audience and income decreased. This aroused the dissatisfaction of both local
cinema owners and American distributors, who threatened to withdraw their films
from the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, so that already in 1993, the clause about the
compulsory quota of domestic films was rescinded.
The Film Distribution Law activated the domestic film industry enterprises.
Adrija Nacional Film, which was run by film directors Ranko Jovanovic and Milutin
Ignjacevic, produced two notable films, Through Storm and Fire (Kroz buru i
oganj), 1930, and At the Gate of Orient (Na kapiji orijenta), 1932. One of the best
films made between the two world wars was In God We Trust (Sa verom u boga),
1932, which was directed by Mihajlo Al. Popovic, the owner of MAP Film and a
well-known cameraman. Many companies closed down after 1933, while the
remaining ones stagnated, making documentaries and films on order from time to
time.
According to the files of the State Film Authority relating to 1935, Serbia
proper, i.e., without Vojvodina and Kosovo, had 53 cinemas in 29 towns, and 48
of these cinemas were provided with sound film projectors. The most dense
cinema network was in Vo-jvodina, where there were 87 cinemas in 65 places (68
cinemas equipped for sound-film showing). There were only seven cinemas in
Kosovo and Metohija. Hollywood-made films prevailed in the repertories.
Montenegro had no film production of its own, but its exotic setting got foreign
producers to make films in Montenegro or about Montenegrin topics. For instance,
Vladimir B. Popovic, a minister in the former Kingdom of Montenegro, was the
chief instigator of the production of the film No Resurrection 8'ithout Death
(Voskrsenje ne biva bez smrti), 1922, in Italy by Sangro Film of Rome. Mirko M.
Dragovic of Cetinje, a film enthusiast, took part in the shooting of a feature film
about blood feuds, The Black Hills Law (Zakon crnih brda) which is better known
as The Durmitor Phantom (Fantom Durmitora), 1932. This film was made as a
German-Yugoslav co-production.
On the eve of the Second World War, in 1940, there were nine cinemas in
Montenegro.

SECOND WORLD WAR. The film industry carried on its activities in keeping
with the circumstances brought about by the war.
The demonstrations of 27 March and the bombing of Belgrade on 6 April 1941
were filmed by professionals and amateurs alike, but not much tape has been
preserved. Films were distributed by Jugoistok Film, an enterprise established by
the occupying forces, which shot stories from time to time for the newsreel of the
German UFA.
The most important project in this period was the domestic feature film
Innocence Without Protection (Nevinost bez zastite) directed by Dragoljub Aleksic,
an acrobat, who also played the chief role in it. Its premiere was staged on 15
February 1943 in Belgrade and although it got bad reviews, it was well-received
by the public, which is best corroborated by the fact that it was seen by more
than 60,000 people. (This film was forgotten after the Second World War and it
was brought to light again in 1968 by Dusan Makavejev in a film having the same
title and supplemented with various library tapes, as well as recollections of
Dragoljub Aleksic and Stevan Miskovic, in addihon to other authors.)
In the German-occupied Serbia, 128 cinemas were operated, of which 26 were
in Belgrade alone. Besides the pre-war films approved by the German censors,
the repertoire included German films mostly, as well as some from Italy, Spain
and Hungary. The best-watched film was The Golden City (Zlatni grad) directed
by F. Harland, which was watched by more than 100,000 people in Belgrade
alone.
The end of the Second World War was covered in the territory of Yugoslavia by
allied film reporters, particularly those from the Soviet Union and Great Britain.
Film shooting did not begin in the Yugoslav National Liberation Army before
late 1944, because there were no conditions for that earlier. The roots of the
modern Yugoslav film industry are in the Films Section of the Supreme
Headquarters of the National Liberation Army of Serbia, which was established on
16 July 1944 and headed by Rados Novakovic. Its chief task was to make the
existing cinemas operational and arrange for the' showing of selected films as a
contribution to cultural life. The Films Section of the Supreme Headquarters of the
National Liberation Army of Yugoslavia was established in
December of the same year. Djorde Vasiljevic, a Nis photographer and
proprietor of a photo-studio, owned a 35 mm camera with which he shot the first
newsreel stories in the early months of 1945, which made up the basis for Our
Film Chronicles No. 1 (News Reel
No. 1), the first work of the modern Yugoslav film industry. The State Film
Enterprise was established on 20 November 1944 by decision of the Agency for
Commerce and Industry of the Federal Government of the Democratic Federal
Yugoslavia (DFY), its task being to restore the cinema network and control the
acquisition of new films. That was a period of the Yugoslav film industry s
transition from a military to a civilian one, since both the
Films Section and the State Film Enterprise were dissolved on 3 July 1945 and
the DFY
Films Enterprise was established (its name was changed to the Films
Enterprise of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia (FPRY) on 29 November
of the same year). The government paid in the founding capital amounting to
1,000,000 dinars and set its tasks relating to the organisation of the Yugoslav film
industry.
In the period from 16 July 1944 to 17 June 1946, the shooting of the newsreel
(the name of which was changed to Film News (Filmske novosti) after the first
issue) was continued and 20 documentaries were made, among which the
following ones stand out: Belgrade (Beograd) directed by Nikola Popovic (1945),
Jasenovac (Jasenovac) by Gustav Gavrin (1945), and The Steps of Freedom
(Koraci slobode) (1945) and A New Land (Nova Zemlja) (1946) directed by Rados
Novakovic.

PERIOD OF CENTRALISED ADMINISTRATION OF THE FILM INDUSTRY

(1945-1951). The changes occurring with the establishment of the DFY (FPRY
subsequently) Film Enterprise boiled down to a complete centralisation of the
domestic film industry, with a view to starting up as soon as possible the
production of domestic films, covering everything from newsreels to feature films.
 The FPRY Films Enterprise was dissolved with the establishment of the Film
Industry Committee of the FPRY Government on 17 June 1946, and the local film
industry gained on importance, since it was accorded the status of an industry of
special social importance and given full government financial support. The Film
Industry Committee, which had the status of a ministry, set the film industry
organisation on two levels, i.e., federal and republic:¿
Aleksandar Vuco was appointed as President of the Films Committee and Jaksa
Petric as its Secretary. The task of the Committee was to nationalise cinemas and
proceed with the opening of new ones, centralise the import of foreign films, plan
the development of the film-making facilities, acquisition the necessary
equipment, start up the staff training and budget for a lasting film production.
Such a set up was a continuation of centralisation of the Yugoslav film industry,
although the republic film industries were also allowed to develop themselves at
the same time, which particularly suited the republics which did not have much
experience in film-making and had underdeveloped cinema networks. Since the
film industry of Serbia was the best developed one at that time, Serbia had a Film
Industry Committee, while Montenegro had only a Films Department in its
Ministry of Edu-cation.
Two more specialised film enterprises were established on federal level,
Zastava film (1948) and Filmske novosti (1951), both in Belgrade. The long
expected feature film appeared after the failure of the Soviet-produced film In the
Mountains of Yugoslavia (U planinama Jugoslavije), 1946, a film shot in
Yugoslavia on a partisan topic. The first Yugoslav feature film after the Second
World War, Slavica (Slavica), 1947, was directed by Vjekoslav Afric.
The biggest merits of the period of centralised administration of the Yugoslav
film industry is seen in the continuation of film production, shooting of 267 issues
of film news, 26 special issues, 205 documentaries, 46 teaching films, two
cartoons and three short and 14 long feature films, making up the basis of the
modern Yugoslav film industry.
This set up of the Yugoslav film industry lasted until 7 April 1951, when the
Film Industry Committee was disbanded by decision of the FPRY Government, in
the scope a general reorganisation of the country, decentralisation and
introduction of workers' self-management.

(2 The other FPRY/FSRY republics had their own Film

Committees/Commissions and republic film production and distribution
enterprises)

PERIOD OF FILM INDUSTRY DECENTRALISATION (1951-1962). Until

1952, the film industry had no difficulties in the production and distribution of
films in Yugoslavia, because that was being taken care off by the government.
With the termination of the period of centralised administration of the film
industry, the federal film enterprise, Zvezda film, merged with Avala film and a
portion of film workers became free-lancers, which was a major novelty. The
biggest change took place in the financing of film production. Instead of the
federal budget, film production began to be financed from the Federal Film
Industry Fund to which a part of the box office income of all cinemas in
Yugoslavia was allocated. Thanks to such a modality of financing, film production
was very lively in Montenegro, although that republic contributed the least to the
Federal Film Industry Fund, because it had the smallest number of cinemas in its
territory. Besides the republic ones, also new film production enterprises were
established, i.e., UFUS (Association of Free-lance Film Workers) of Belgrade
(1951) and Belgrade Film Club (1955).
In 1956, the FPRY Assembly adopted the Basic Film Law which regulated the
whole Yugoslav film industry for the first time.
By 1962, the Serbian and Montenegrin film industries reached a high level by
Yugoslav standards (64 feature films altogether) and managed to establish
themselves internationally, too. The first-ever international co-production film,
The Last Bridge (Poslednji most), was made in 1954 together with an Austrian
producer. A new generation of film directors and other film artists and workers
emerged.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE REPUBLIC AND PROVINCIAL FILM

INDUSTRIES (1962-1991). The abolishment of the Federal Film Industry
Advancement Fund in 1962 was followed by decentralisation of the Yugoslav film
industry and its further development as a set of republic and provincial film
industries. Film production was financed from republic funds at first and as from
1974, also from provincial funds, to which were allocated a special tax levied on
cinema tickets and monies from the republic/provincial contribution for cultural
purposes. Even under such changed circumstances, the Serbian film industry still
accounted for more than 50% of the total Yugoslav film production. In the late
sixties, film centres began to develop in Vojvodina and Kosovo, involving the
establishment of Neo-planta film (1966) in Novi Sad and Kosovo film (1970) in
Pristina.
Such a modality of financing, through republic funds, produced a crippling
effect on the Montenegrin film industry, forcing it to discontinue the production of
feature films, but not of the documentaries, too.
In this period, the Yugoslav film industry had several characteristics as a
reflection of developments in the world film industry, the first of which emerged in
the early sixties, when the number of cinema-goers decreased dramatically
because of the expansion of television. When the relations between the cinema
and television got settled in the late eighties, Yugoslavia, too, was affected by the
expansion of the home video. However, regardless of these changes, the film
industries of Serbia and Montenegro managed to maintain their normal production
level by securing funds in various ways, including: inter-republic and international
co-operation, co
operation with sponsors and donors, co-operation with TV and video
companies and government, though to an ever decreasing extent with the latter.
By winning prizes at many international film festivals, Yugoslav film industry
demonstrated its high accomplishments, in aesthetic and production terms alike.

CONTINUED ACTIVITY OF THE FILM INDUSTRY IN THE FR OF

YUGOSLAVIA (from 1992 onwards). The changes that took place in and
disintegration of the former Yugoslavia after 1991 affected very much the film
industry, too. The economic, cultural and other sanctions introduced against the
FR of Yugoslavia also produced a crippling effect on the film industry: the number
of cinemas decreased by more than 70% and the number of cinema-goers by
80%, exports in domestic films were stopped completely, which also goes for the
Yugoslav participation in foreign film festivals. Even so, Yugoslavia managed to
keep its film production going and produced 32 feature films from 1991 to 1995.
After 1995, the Yugoslav film industry made a comeback to the European and
world film industry by scoring a triumph at the Cannes Film Festival (Golden Palm
in 1996 for the film Underground). The film production began to increase
gradually, which also goes for the number of imported films (thanks to the return
of American majors) and the number of cinemas and number of cinema-goers.

FILM PRODUCTION
FEATURE FILMS After the Second World War, feature films were produced in
Serbia and Montenegro until 1951 exclusively by Zvezda film, a federal
enterprise, and Avala Alm and Lovcen film, republic enterprises. In 1951, they
were joined by UFUS (Association of Film Artists of Serbia) and in 1964, also by
Belgrade Cinema Club (with its first filin, The Traitor (Izdajnik), which was
directed by Kokan Rakonjac). In the course of further decentralisation of the
Yugoslav film industry, dividing it into republic and provincia1 fiIm industries,
professional feature film production was started up in Vojvodina in 1972, by
Neoplanta film (with the film The Traces of a Dark Girl (Tragovi crne devojke)
directed by Zdravko Randic) and in Kosovo by Kosovo film (with the film How to
Die (Kako umreti) directed by Miodrag Stamenkovic).
Under the 1982 Film Industry Law and Law on the Independent Performance
of Artistic and Other Activities in the Field of Culture, it was made possible to set
up in Serbia permanent working communities (PWC or TRZ in the Serbian
original) foi the production of films. Among the first and most important ef the
latter was Art film of Belgrade, which was followed by others specialising in
various kinds of films.
In the late eighties, the film producers were also joined by many distributors
(Avala pro-film, Mumva film, Inex film, Zeta film, etc.), as well as by Beograd
film, the biggest cinema operating organisation. Some other organisations, such
as Decje novine pubiishing organisation, Association of Cinema Operators of
Serbia, etc., also acted as film producers from time to time.
After 1991, many permanent-working communities, as well as many classical
film enterprises, weie no longer able to carry on their business, because the film
market got shrunk" the number of cinemas decreased dramatically and the
sanctions made the acquisition of film material and equipment almost impossible.
As of 1991, the Radio and Television Organisation of Belgrade/Serbia (RTV
Beograd / Srbija) was one of the most important film producers or co-producers.
Another major co-producer was Avala film, the one time biggest producer in
Serbia, since it owns the filming equipment and other facilities and premises. A
financial contribution was being made by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of
Serbia. The initiative in the domestic feature film production was taken over
completely by private enterprises, among which the following stand out: MP
Agency, Cinema Design, Victoria Film and Monte Royal Pictures.
Serbia and Montenegro have a prevailing share in the film heritage of the
former SFR of Yugoslavia (Table I and Chart I). Of the 889 long feature films
made in the 1947-1990 period, 455 or 51.2% were made in Serbia and
Montenegro (426 or 47.9% in Serbia alone).
After 1990, the production of long feature films went on in Serbia only. In the
1991-1997 period, 43 of these films were produced in Serbia and only one in
Montenegro. In terms of genre, 40 of them were modern dramas or comedies,
one was a historic one (Migrations)(Seobe), 1994, directed by Aleksandar
Petrovic), one was a musical one (Sweet Dreams)(Slatko od snova), 1994,
directed by Vladimir 2ivkovic) and one was cartoon/puppet film (Amy the Infantry
Ant (Mrav pesadinac), 1993, by Slavko Tatic). All films were in colour, in the
mono-technique mostly, one being made by the Dolby stereo technique (Variant
A) and only two by the Dolby SR technique (Underground (Podzemlje), 1995,
directed by Emir Kusturica, and Balkan Rules (Balkanska pravila), 1997, directed
by Darko Bajic).
Among the films made in this period, the following ones stand out: Tango
Argentino, 1992, by Goran Paskaljevic, 8'e are no Angels (Mi nismo andeli), 1992,
by Srdan Dragojevic, Tito and I (Tito i ja), 1992, by Goran Markovic, Better Than
Escape (Bolje od bekstva), 1993, by Miroslav Lekic, Between Heaven and Earth
(Ni na nebu ni na zemlji), 1994, by Milos Radivojevic, Premeditated Murder
(Ubistvo s predumisljajem), 1995, by Gorcin Sto-janovic, Underground
(Podzemlje), 1995, by Emir Kusturica, Somebody Else s America (Tuda Amerika),
1995, by Goran Paskaljevic, and Pretty Village, Pretty Flame (Lepa sela lepo
gore), 1996, by Srdan Dragojevic.
The Yugoslav films made after 1995 were well-rated at international film
festivals.
In marking the First Century of Film in Serbia, the Board of the Academy of
Film Art and Science (AFUN) made an appraisal of all domestic films made from
1945 to 1995 and selected the best ten. Based on the aesthetic criterion, AFUN
divided this period into three phases, including. phase of professional beginnings
(1947-1956), phase of maturing creativity (1957-1966) and phase of mature
creativity (1967-1995).
In the phase of professional beginnings (1947-1956), 30 films were made and
they varied &om strict realism at the beginning to a somewhat more flexible one
later on, their topics being associated with the war years (Slavica, 1947,
Vjekoslav Afric) or problems encountered in the development of a new society
(Life is Ours (Zivot je nas), 1947, Gustav Gavrin). Initially, the feature film was
used for ideological purposes, but soon enough, it also began to be regarded as
art, so that films without ideological connotations began to be
made (e.g., Soka, 1948, Rados Novakovic). This meant that doors were
opened to film authors having a critical attitude to the reality presented in films,
as in Faraway is the Sun (Daleko je sunce),1953, by Rados Novakovic or Great
and Small (Veliki i mali), 1956, by Vladimir Pogacic.

The phase of maturing creativity (1957-1966) resulted in the production of 71

films and it introduced a new generation of directors who were against a virtual
transliteration of the realities to film. By making small shifts and in the absence of
criticism of the old and excessive wish to mend and improve things, their feature
films acquired new values, starting with Saturday Evening (Subotom uvece),
1957, by Vladimir Pogacic. The Yugoslav film industry began to open up to the
world, so that an authorship approach to film was developed, finding its
stronghold in the "French new wave Directors such as Aleksandar Petrovic (He
and She (Dvoje), The Days (Dani)) and somewhat later, Kokan Rakonjac, Dusan
Makavejev, Purisa Bordevic and Zivojin Pavlovic, made the films whose aesthetic
value opened the doors of the world to the Yugoslav films in general. The new
principles applied in the production of films, with an emphasis on the highest
possible self-financing, brought in new directors who were to reconcile the market
and reviewers. In this phase, the greatest success was scored by Zika Mitrovic
with his films Captain Leshi (Kapetan Lesi), 1960, and March on the Drina (Mars
na Drinu), 1964.
In the third phase, the phase of mature creativity (1967-1995), 359 films
were made, not only by directors from Belgrade, but also those from Novi Sad,
with Zelimir Zilnik in the first place (Early Works)(Rani radovi). The stereotype
film forms and aesthetic criteria were being abandoned and the directors were
increasingly going in for personal expression and attitude, though with a full
involvement of their films. This approach was denoted as the "black wave in the
Yugoslav film production, which was arrested by a campaign launched by the
establishment in the early seventies. A new generation of directors emerged in
the mid-seventies. They became known as the "Czech school" and they were
headed by Goran Markovic, Goran Paskaljevic and Srdjan Karanovic. They were
joined by students of the "Belgrade school", such as Milos Radivojevic, Slobodan
Sijan, Branko Baletic and others. By continuing the author film traditions, they
produced films with skil-
fully incorporated social contrasts, stereotype-free characters, an atmosphere
typical of the domestic environment, in which also well-known foreign actors
played. The films such as The Beach Guard in Winter (Cuvar plaze u zimskom
periodu), 1976, by Goran Paskaljevic, Special Education (Specijalno vaspitanje),
1977, by Goran Markovic, The Scent of Wild Flowers (Miris poljskog cveca), 1977,
by Srdjan Karanovic, Petrija's Wreath (Petrijin venac), 1980, by Srdjan Karanovic,
Pro's that Singing Over there (Ko to tamo peva), 1980, by Slobodan Sijan, and
Variola Vera (Variola vera), 1982, by Goran Markovic, marked the eighties. The
cinema-goers passed the verdict by accepting these films, getting thus the other
directors and producers to abandon the idea of hermeticality, though reacting to
any excessive "commercialisation" New film expressions were also being sought in
the films of other authors, who were trying to give answers to the questions
posed by modern life, though reconsidering also the answers given earlier. Works
of literature and plays were being filmed, co-operation with the television was
expanding, and the classical producers were also being joined by the first author
groups gathered in the permanent working communities. A genre versatility
existed, but no particular genre prevailed. Beginners were appearing each year
and their films not only freshened up the cinema repertoire, but they also
extended the aesthetic reaches. The late eighties and first half of the nineties
confirmed the maturity of the Yugoslav film industry, which even under sanctions
managed to produce several remarkably good films, such as: Tango Argentino,
1992, by Goran Paskaljevic, We are no Angels (Mi nismo andeli), 1992, by Srdjan
Dragojevic, The Black Bomber (Crni bombarder), 1992, by Darko Bajic,
Premeditated Murder (Ubistvo s pre-dumisljajeni), 1995, by Gorcin Stojanovic,
and Underground (Podzemlje), 1995, by Emir Kusturica. An authors' autonomy
achieved in a new sensibility to various psychological and emotional contrasts
which are felt increasingly in the Yugoslav society, elevated these authors above
the local frames.
The AFUN members selected the following ten films as the best ones made in
the 1947-1995 period:
1. Who's that Singing Over There (Ko to tamo peva), 1982, by Slobodan Sijan
2. I Met Some Happy Gypsies Too (Skupljaci perja), 1967, by Aleksandar
Petrovic
3. Underground (Podzemlje), 1995, by Emir Kusturica
4. The Three (Tri), 1965, by Aleksandar Petrovic
5. When I am Dead and White (Kada budem mrtav i beo), 1967, by Zivojin
Pavlovic
6. Morning (Jutro), 1967, by Purisa Bordevic
7. Premeditated Murder (Ubistvo s predumisljajem), 1995, by Gorcin
Stojanovic
8. Petrija 's Wreath (Petrijin venac), 1980, by Srdjan Karanovic
9. We are no Angels (Mi nismo andeli), 1992, by Srdjan Dragojevic
 10. Saturday Evening (Subotom uvece), 1957, by Vladimir Pogacic
With the exception of The Three and Saturday Evening, all of these films
belong to the phase of mature creativity and they confirmed that the Yugoslav
film industry had risen above the average level and imposed itself by its
remarkably good accomplishments, which have received the highest ac-
knowledgements at domestic and international film festivals alike.

DOCUMENTARY FILMS The production of documentary films has much deeper

roots. Its origins date back to 1897 and it has contributed a lot to the high
reputation and quality of the Yugoslav film industry in the country and abroad
alike.
Thanks to much smaller requirements in terms of equipment and staff, as well
as lower cost, in relation to feature films, the number of documentary films
produced is much bigger than that of the feature ones
Like in case of feature films, Serbia was also the biggest producer of
documentary films in the former Yugoslavia, its share being 42% until 1980 and
46% until 1990.

CHART II - PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTARY FILMS The documentary

film production began to decline in 1989 and went on in 1990, when the
production was halved in relation to that in 1988. After 1991, some
documentaries were shot using video cameras and by 1994, the production using
video cameras prevailed. The films shot using conventional and video cameras
have been treated equally at the Belgrade Documentary and Short Film Festival
since 1996. Although it is difficult to determine the genre of films, they are still
nevertheless divided into documentary films, cartoons, experimental and short
feature films. Some documentary film genres have disappeared from the film
industry completely, as is the case with popular science, teaching or travel films,
which have been taken over by the television. The production of advertising films
and clips has become, like everywhere else in the world, an independent branch,
in financial terms primarily.
Dunav film, the leading documentary film producer in Serbia, is still in
business and also new ones are cropping up, such as TRZ Beograd, as well as
many private ones.
The pictures of everyday life have acquired a new, artistic form, making the
Yugoslav documentaries well-known also outside Yugoslavia. The documentary
films made in the first few years after the Second World War were based on the
experiences of the film cameramen such as Stevan Miskovic, Mihajilo Ivanjikov,
Mihajlo Al. Popovic and Vladeta Lukic, but it did not take long for a new
generation of documentary film makers to emerge. They were not satisfied with
just describing the realities and they sought ways and means of author
researching. The directors Velimir Sto-janovic, Zika Cukulic, Zika Ristic and
Milenko Strbac distinguished themselves by the selection of frames and their
internal composition and by giving appropriate wording to their films.
In the mid-sixties, Aleksandar Petrovic introduced a full intimistic approach to
and structure of films. Authors also began to make socially involved documentary
films, dealing through global metaphors with many anomalies occurring in the
society, which particularly applies to films such as First Case a Man (Prvi padez
covek), Soldier Dismissed (Ratnice voljno) and others directed by Krsto Skanata.
Because of that, the next generation did not take reality as an obstruction to
artistic truth, on the basis of which the so-called "Belgrade documentary film
school" was already formed. The films made by Stjepan Zaninovic, Mica Milosevic
and particularly Predrag Golubovic expanded the thematic frames of documentary
films through an authentic film expression. Novi Sad also became a major
documentary film centre, thanks to such fine authors as Zelimir Zilnik and Branko
Milosevic, who were subsequently joined by Miroslav Jokic, Prvoslav Marie, Karolj
Vicek, Miroslav Antic and others. In placing an emphasis on sound and picture,
they were making parodies through showing the occurrences around them in
quite a new light. In the seventies, the new authors, such as Zivko Nikolic, who
tended to vary the topics through his documentary films, or Vlatko Gilic, who
insisted on the individual expression and deviation from the arranging of frames
like in his best-known documentary, Love (Ljubav), were joined by the students
of the Belgrade Faculty of Dramatic Arts Jovan Jovanovic, Dejan Burkovic and
others.
Documentaries were being made in Montenegro by Zdravko Velimirovic, Niksa
Jovicevic, Branislav Bastac and others, who were seeking topics in exotic local
surroundings and managing to leave a personal mark. The nature as an
inexhaustible source of topics determined the opus of Aleksandar Ilic, whose
greatest achievement was The Sledge Hammer (Malj) and in particular that of
Petar Lalovic, who was successful in finding a link between virgin nature and
animals on the one side, and man's continuos disruption of such harmony, on the
other.
Many of the documentaries shot from the early nineties onwards won prizes
and acknowledgements at domestic and international film festivals. Also new
authors emerged, including: Vladimir Perovic, Milan Knezevic, Zelimir Gvardiol
and others.
Thanks to the films shot using video cameras and equalisation of the status of
the video and documentary films, the number of films made began to grow
rapidly as of 1993. According to the prizes won at domestic and international film
festivals in this period, the following documentaries stand out: Quiet Life
(Tihovanje), 1992, by Mirjana Vukomanovic, About War and Warriors (0 ratu i
ratnicima), 1993, by Branko Milosevic, and I don't Know Where, when or How (Ne
znam ni gde, ni kad ni kako), 1995, by Zelimir Gvardiol.
The biggest problem posed to this production relates to commercial
exploitation and showing in the cinema network which disappeared completely in
the sixties, not to mention the fact that the television changed its programme
pattern, so that there are no longer any broadcasts of the "One author, one film
type which was devoted to this production precisely. In other words, the "life of
documentaries was limited to festivals only.

SHORT FEATURE FILMS Like the documentaries, also the short feature films
have a cultural mission only. With exception of the festival premieres and
occasional TV broadcasting, neither was this category of films shown in cinemas.
Many documentary film makers were looking for an opportunity to try themselves
out in this production before tackling the feature films. For example, this was the
case with Predrag Golubovic and his opus consisting of The Death of Countryman
Djurica (Smrt paora Djurice), Quiet (Tisine) and Biography of Joseph Schulz
(Biografija Jozefa Rulca). A particularly big contribution to international success of
this kind of production was made by the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, with the film
The Case of Foundryman Bogoljub Savkovic (Slucaj Bogoljuba Savkovica livca)
(1981), by Seljami Taraku. Preference was given subsequently to the omnibus
films made as of late by students of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts mostly.
Altogether eight omnibus films have been made in what is now the FR of
Yugoslavia from 1947 to 1997. About 50 short feature films have been made from
1991 to 1997 and in terms of the prizes won, three of them made in 1994 stand
out: Loss of Memory (Amnezija) by Dusan Petricic, Necro film (Nekro film) by
Dejan Zecevic and Threesome (Trojka) by Srdan Golubovic.

CARTOONS The production of cartoons aiter the Second World War was started
up by Ljubisa and Vera Jocic with their puppet film The Pioneer and Mark E (Pionir
i dvojka) and carried on by Nikola Majdak and the cartoonist Zoran Jovanovic,
who created a special expression of the "Belgrade cartoon school" gathered
around Dunav film. A style quite different from that of the "Zagreb cartoon
school" was developed. What prevailed were the short forms, jokes told in the
cartoon style. Later on, they
were joined by younger authors, such as Vera Vlajic, Rastko Ciric and Veljko
Bikic. With his Bikic Studio, the latter has been the biggest cartoons producer in
Yugoslavia since 1990. Besides the various kinds of cartoons, Bikic Studio also
makes cartoons and feature films combined. Bikic produced 29 cartoons by 1995
and won many prizes for them. Bikic also produces about 70 short commercial
clips a year.

NEWSREEL The shooting of newsreel stories towards the end of last century -
not only by foreign cameramen, but also by domestic film pioneers - speaks about
the newsreel making traditions in Yugoslavia. However, a permanent production
was started up towards the end of the Second World War, in 1945, when the
Newsreel No. 1 was produced using the materials shot by the Film Section of
Serbia. This production was continued by the DFY/FPRY Film Enterprise at first
(until 1946) and then by the Zvezda film federal enterprise. On 1 July 1950, this
production was taken over by the newly established Central Filmed News
Enterprise (Filmed News as of 1955). From 1948 onwards, the yearly output
amounted to 52 weekly newsreels and 12 monthly ones and eight Film Reviews.
Filmed News (now a federal public enterprise) has not been producing newsreels
since 1990. Instead of that, it is producing filmed documentation and films on
order and renting out film production facilities.

SPECIAL-PURPOSE FILMS The production of this kind of films used to be an

integral part of the film industry and something done by classical film producers.
However, specialisation was introduced in due course, so that the production of
scientific and technological films was taken over by the television and that of the
commercials, which have to be up to high international standards, by specialised
firms engaged in marketing exclusively. Besides domestic enterprises, such as
Spectra, Mark-plan and Idea Plus, also the internationally renowned advertising
agencies Saatchi & Saatchi and Mother & Ogilvy are operating in the Yugoslav film
industry.

CO-OPERATION WITH FOREIGN FILM-MAKERS The first-ever true co-

productions in the Yugoslav film industry occured after the Second World War and
involved producers from Austria. These were the films entitled Adventures of the
Beautiful Irena (Nezgode lepe Irene), 1953, and The Last Bridge (Poslednji most),
1954, both by Helmut Keutner. The most successful co-production from the
artistic and economic aspects alike was the Highway Hell (Krvavi put), 1955. It
was co-directed by Rados Novakovic and Kare Bekstrom and it involved a
Norwegian producer. Financial and artistic investments were shared in co-
production films, resulting in smaller risks in the domestic market and easier
access to third markets, so that Yugoslavia was an interesting country because of
its wide variety of shooting sites, price competitiveness, skilled labour force and
availability of equipment.
The number of co-productions kept growing from 1955 to 1976 (Table III).
Although the number of countries with which films were CO-produced kept
increasing, most films were made together with producers from Austria,
Czechoslovakia, France, Italy, Hungary, Germany, Norway, Poland, Soviet Union
and USA.
The number of CO-productions kept decreasing from 1976 onwards, but two
more forms of international co-operation emerged in film production: CO-
participation and technical services, which became very attractive to the Yugoslav
film industry. Since such matters did not have to be registered, it would be
difficult to establish the actual number of such arrangements, which is particularly
difficult for short and documentary films.
Following a brief standstill, a turning point was reached in 1995, when as
much as four films were CO-produced: Underground (Podzemlje), Somebody
Else's America (Tuda Amerika), An Uproarious Tragedy (Urnebesna tragedija) and
Odysseus View (Odisejev pogled). All of these films won prizes at international
film festivals in that year (1995), the highest being the Golden Palm awarded to
director Emir Kusturica for his film Underground (that was his second Golden
Palm).

CO-OPERATION WITH THE TELEVISION The showing of films on the

television began as a regular practice in 1956, when the television broadcasting
was started up for the first time in Yugoslavia. The number of films shown on the
television kept increasing all the time. Local private TV stations, whose
programmes are also based on film broadcasting, also began to crop up in
Yugoslavia from 1991 onwards (according to available information, there were
about 70 TV stations and about 10 cable TV networks in 1996), so that it would
be very difficult to determine the actual number of films shown. For the time
being, these stations are neither interested in co-operating with the Yugoslav film
industry in some other way, nor are they capable of doing so.
However, besides showing films, the state-run television has also been co-
operating with the Yugoslav film industry in other ways.
The domestic film industry was undergoing a crisis in the sixties and it was
required of it to operate as profitably as possible. Consequently, the TV comedy
serials by Radivoje Lola Djukic, in which Miodrag Petrovic Ckalja and Mija Aleksic
were starring, were used for making films. Thus, the Service Station (Servisna
stanica) serial, 1961, was used for making the films Your Luck is in Your Bag
(Sreca u torbi) and Small Gods do not Exist (Nema malih bogova) and the serial
The Mirror of Citizen Pokorni (Ogledalo gradanina Pokornog), 1965, for making
the film Stay Still Citizen Pokorni (Na mestu gradanine Pokorni). This kind of co-
operation was put to an end in 1970, when the film Burdus (Burdus) was made
from the popular TV serial The Musicians (Muzikanti).
Because of a shortage of funds in the 1970-1980 period, the film industry was
taking over plays from the television. It exploited them as cinema films at first
and then showed them on the television. That is how the films The Testament
(Testament), 1975, Pavilion VI (Paviljon VI), 1978, Earth Days are Passing
(Zemaljski dani teku), 1979, and others came into being.
After 1980, the co-operation between the film industry and television was
taking place on an equal footing, involving three forms. (1) TV serials made on
the basis of popular films, e.g., The Balkan Express (Balkan ekspres), 1983, by
Branko Baletic; (2) feature films made from popular serials, e.g., The Lorry
Drivers are Back (Kamiondzije opet voze), 1984, by Milo Bukanovic; (3)
concurrent production of TV serials and films, e.g., The Leaves are Broad (Siroko
je lisce), 1980, by Petar Latinovic or 13 July (13. jul), 1982, by Radomir
Saranovic.
Besides these three forms of co-operation, co-operation was also established
in the late eighties in the production of feature films, the provisions for which
were also made in the 1991 Film Industry Law of the Republic of Serbia (Article
19 of that law made it obligatory for the television to take part in the production
of the feature and documentary films included in the plan of the Ministry of
Culture). Of the 55 feature films made in Yugoslavia in this period until 1997, 43
or 78% were made in co-operation with the television, while 12 or 22% were
made by producers independently.
In the production of documentaries, the co-operation with the television was
of an even more special character, because the television took over many genres
from the documentary film and incorporated them in its programmes completely,
as is the case with the popular science, teaching and travel films.

FILM SHOWING Before proper cinemas were opened in what is now the FR of
Yugoslavia, films were being shown in rented for the occasion restaurants and fire
brigade, sports, dance and other halls. The cinema network inherited in
Yugoslavia after the Second World War (consisting of about 400 units) was
unevenly distributed and fragmentised, i.e., most cinemas were one-man
businesses having only one or possibly two to three halls. After the Second World
war, when the attitude to the film industry changed, recognising it as a part of
national culture and arts, also the cinemas changed their purpose, because they
became places of an informative, cultural and, in the last place, entertaining
nature. However, despite these changes, the film showing sector was still
characterised by the lowest level of organisation.
Thanks to the implementation of the cinema network expansion programme
started up in the period of centralised administration and continued after 1951 in
somewhat different circumstances, the number of cinemas kept increasing until
1967, when it reached 1,765 in the then Yugoslavia as a whole. It has been
decreasing ever since.
The decrease in the number of cinemas was also paralleled by a decrease in
the number of cinema-goers, ratio of the domestic to foreign film audience and
per capita cinema-going rate (Table V and Chart III).

The number of cinemas and the number of shows and cinema-goers have
been increasing gradually since 1995 and this has been paralleled by many
changes dictating the future expansion of cinemas in Yugoslavia. In the first
place, there are the changes in the ownership structure. Namely, many halls of
the workers' and popular universities, cultural clubs, youth clubs and the like, in
which films used to be shown from time to time, have been rented and
remodelled by private distributors who by doing so, set up a parallel cinema
network of their own. At the end of 1997, there were 14 such cinemas in Belgrade
and one in Novi Sad. There were none in other towns. These changes were
essentially followed by the introduction of the stereo-Dolby sound and DVS
systems. Moreover, exclusively thanks to the initiative of private distributors,
multiplex cinemas (having several halls) are also being opened, like in the Labour
Union Club in Belgrade, which has three cinema halls at present.

FILM FESTIVALS
DOMESTIC FILM FESTIVALS The oldest national film festival was the
Yugoslav Feature Film Festival, which was established in Pula (in Croatia now) in
1954, as a review in which only the audience prize was awarded. As from the next
year, a professional jury awarded prizes for the total art contribution, as well as
for individual artistic accomplishments. Documentaries were also shown in Pula
until 1959, but as of the next year, they competed at the Yugoslav Documentary
and Short Film Festival in Belgrade, the chief purpose of which was to encourage
further expansion of the documentary film production. Practically the whole
Yugoslav annual production was shown at these two festivals, with prior selection
for official and informative programmes. The both festivals were managed by the
Yugoslav Film Festival. Later on, the Documentary Film Festival was taken over by
the City of Belgrade, Sava Centre and as of the nineties, Yugoslavia Film.

The following feature film festivals are staged in Yugoslavia at present:

- Festival of Actors Accomplishments in Nis (staged since 1966), where actors

compete for prestigious prizes: Emperor Constantine for the chief male role,
Empress Theodora for the chief female role and the Festival Grand Prix (Skull-
tower formerly, Naisa now). A prize is also awarded each year to an actor or
actress for his/her lifework. This prize was called Slavica initially, and in 1991, its
name was changed to Pavle Vujisic, the name of a well-known domestic actor;

- Screenplay Festival in Vrnjacka Banja (staged since 1976) where three prizes
are awarded for the best screenplay, regardless of whether it is original or made
according to works of literature;

- Yugoslav Film Festival in Herceg Novi (from 1987 to 1991, it was the Festival of
Film Direction at which the Golden, Silver and Bronze Mimosas were awarded). In
1992, it became the national film festival instead of the Pula one formerly and the
chief prize awarded at it is the Golden Mimosa in all film categories;

- Yugoslav Film Festival - Novi Sad Arena staged in Novi Sad since 1992, where
films are appraised as a whole and three prizes are awarded (Golden, Silver and
Bronze Arenas);

- Cartoon Festival staged in Cacak. It is a biennial event in view of the small

number of cartoons produced in Yugoslavia. It was staged in Podgorica at first
and was moved to Cacak subsequently, where it has been staged six times so far.

INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVALS IN YUGOSLAVIA Several international

film festivals are staged in Yugoslavia.
The oldest of these festivals is the International Festival of Scientific and
Technological Films, which was established in Belgrade in 1958 and it is staged at
two year intervals. It has not been staged in the last few years because of certain
difficulties.
The most popular international film festival, FEST - The Best Films in the
world, was established in Belgrade in 1970 and it is not of the competition type.
Since it was intended for the showing of films awarded prizes at the most
important film festivals in the world, FEST had a remarkably good role in the
promotion of film art and improvement of the cinema repertoire in Yugoslavia.
The International War Film Festival was established in Sopot in 1971. Later on,
its name was changed to the Freedom-lovers Film Festivities and as of late, it is
known as the Sopot Film Festival, where domestic and foreign films are shown
together.
The youngest of these festivals is the Palic Film Festival which has been staged
in Palic near Subotica since 1993. Domestic and foreign films compete there
separately and the Aleksandar Lifka Prize is awarded in the both categories. The
prize is named after one of the Yugoslav film industry pioneers from Subotica.
The Author Film Festival - A Look at the World was established in Belgrade,
also in 1993, by Yugoslavia Film and the prize awarded at it is named after
Aleksandar-Sasa Petrovic, a well-known Yugoslav film director.
A specialised festival, The Ethnographic Film Festival, has been staged since
1992 in the Prohor Pcinjski Monastery. The International Festival of Sport Tourist
and Ecological Films has been staged on the Zlatibor Mountain since 1993. The
Golden, Silver and Bronze Pine prizes are awarded in all three film categories.

PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVALS Yugoslav films

have been participating in international film festivals since 1947. Until 1990, all
invitations to take part international film festivals came through Yugoslavia Film.
Only a few were sent to the producers or authors directly. Yugoslav films have
won a large number of prizes, diplomas and other acknowledgements, among
which stand out the two Silver Bears awarded in Berlin for the films The Rats
Wake Up (Budenje pacova), 1968,
by Zivojin Pavlovic and Early Works (Rani radovi), 1970, by Aleksandar
Popovic, and the Special Prize and FIPRESCI Prize awarded in Cannes for the film
I Met Some Happy Gypsies Too (Skupljaci perja), 1967, by Aleksandar Petrovic.
The documentary films competed in far greater numbers, and were also
awarded a large number of first prizes at well-known festivals, such as those in
Oberhausen, Leipzig, Bilbao, Krakow, etc.

After 1990, the Yugoslav film industry was also awarded one of the Felix prizes for
the supporting female role, which went to Marta Keler for her role in the film
Virgina (Virdiina), 1991, by Srdan Karanovic. From 1993 to 1995, the Yugoslav
film industry was unable to participate in international film festivals because of
sanctions which also applied to cultural activities. However, following the lifting of
sanctions and the Golden Palm awarded to the film Underground in Cannes
(1995), invitations are being sent to producers or authors directly. Prizes and
acknowledgements were also won by the following Yugoslav films in this period:
Somebody Else's America (Cannes 1995, Valladolid 1995), Premeditated Murder
(Berlin 1996, Valencia 1996, Goteburg 1996, etc.), Pretty Village, Pretty Flame
(Sao Paolo 1996, Stockholm 1996, Angers 1997, etc.) and the documentary I
don't Know 8%ere, @%en or How (San Francisco 1995, New York 1996,
Columbus 1997, etc.).

FILM AUTHORS
Besides the films made, one of the greatest assets of the Yugoslav film industry
are the film authors, including directors, cameramen and actors in the first place.
In the first post-war period, Vjekoslav Afric, Nikola Popovic, Rados Novakovic and
Vladimir Pogacic stood out among directors, Mihajlo Ivanjikov and Mihajlo Al.
Popovic among cameramen and Milivoje Zivanovic, Ljubisa Jovanovic and others
among actors who were recruited from the theatre. A different kind of films began
to be made in the sixties by directors such as Aleksandar Petrovic, Zivojin
Pavlovic, Purisa Bordevic, Dusan Makavejev, Kokan Rakonjac and Zelimir Zilnik,
cameramen Aleksandar Petkovic, Milorad Jaksic and Branko Ivatovic and actors
(who were later to become Yugoslav film stars) Milena Dravic, Velimir-Bata
Zivojinovic, Ljubisa Samardzic, Stole Arandelovic, Pavle
Vujisic and many others. Three gifted directors reached their professional
maturity in Montenegro: Velja Stojanovic, Milo Bukanovic and Zdravko
Velimirovic. The late seventies were marked by directors from the so-called
"Czech school", Goran Markovic, Srdan Karanovic and Goran Paskaljevic and
cameraman Predrag Popovic. Zivko Nikolic and Predrag Golubovic worked for
Serbian and Montenegrin film industries parallely. They also led a new generation
of graduates from the Belgrade Faculty of Dramatic Arts, including: Slobodan
Sijan, Milos Radivojevic, Zdravko Sotra, Miroslav Lekic, Srdjan Dragojevic and
Dragan Kresoja (all directors), cameramen Radoslav Vladic and Milos Spasojevic
and a whole pleiad of talented young actors who had already established
themselves, as was the case with Lazar Ristovski, Branislav Lecic, Svetozar
Cvetkovic and Zoran Cvijanovic and the younger ones, such as. Mirjana Jokovic,
Srdan Todorovic, Nikola Kojo, Dragan Bjelogrlic, Branka Katic, Sergej Trifunovic
and others.
Although mostly directors acted as screen writers in the Yugoslav film
industry, a contribution was made to this also by many writers and journalists,
such as. Oskar Davico, Branko Copic, Borislav Mihajlovic-Mihiz, Borislav Pekic,
Miroslav Antic, Branimir Rcepanovic, Ferenc Deak and others. Among the film
playwriters, the greatest contribution was made by Ratkc Burovic, Gordan Mihic,
Arsen Diklic, Dusan Kovacevic, Nebojsa Pajkic, Ljubisa Kozomora, Zika Lazic,
Sinisa Pavic and others. Great credit is deserved also by: film editors, such as
Olga Skrigin, Katarina Stojanovic, Jelena i Vojislav Bjenjas, Branka Ceperac,
Vuksan Lukovac, Mirjana Mitrovic, Lana Vukobratovic, Jelica Bokic, Petar Markovic
and others; scenographers, such as Miomir Denic, Vlastimir Gavrik, Veljko
Despotovic, Dragoljub Ivkov, Milenko Jeremic, Vladislav Lasic, Miljan Kljakovic
Kreka and others, costume designers, such as Mirjana Ostojic, Zagorka
Stojanovic, Mira Cohadzic, Boris Caksiran, Biljana i Ljiljana Dragovic, Emilija
Kovacevic and others; film music composers, such as Vojislav Voki Kostic, Zoran
Hristic, Mladen and Predrag Vranesevic, Lazar Ristovski, Zoran Simjanovic, Dusko
Kaurovic, Ksenija Zecevic and others, and producers, such as Ratko Drazevic,
Aleksije Obradovic, Milan Zmukic, Dusan Perkovic, Nikola Popovic, Petar Sobajic,
Aleksandar Stojanovic, Borde Milojevic, Milan Cvetkovic and others.
As for the documentary film production, a big group was formed around the
so-called "Belgrade school", which deserves credit for the success of Yugoslav
documentaries not only in the country, but abroad too. The accomplishments of
directors Krsto Skanata, Stjepan Zaninovic, Milenko Strbac, Niksa Jovicevic and
Aleksandar Ilic marked a whole epoch. Later on, they were also joined by other
directors, such as Branko Milosevic, Momir Matovic and even younger ones, such
as Zelimir Gvardiol, Milan Knezevic and others.
The most successful cartoon-makers in Belgrade in the late seventies were
Nikola Majdak, Zoran Jovanovic, Vera Vlajic, Dusan Sevo, Rastko Ciric, Veljko
Bikic, Dragutin Gane Milanovic, Rajko Radovic and others.

TRAINING Initially, the film industry was taking over staff from some related
industries and show business, and for a long time, the training boiled down to
practising and assisting. Between the two world wars, at
tempts were being made at setting up film schools, but that never turned into
a system of training for film-making.
What was particularly lacking were technical/artistic workers, so that it was
proceeded with sending students to Moscow and Prague for training. Thanks to
the efforts made by the Film Industry Committee of the FPRY Government, the
High School for Film Actors and Directors was established in 1947 in Belgrade and
technical film schools in Belgrade and Zagreb, which had the status of secondary
vocational schools for work in the film industry.
In the 1950/51 academic year, the High School for Film Actors and Directors
and the Theatre Academy merged and became the Academy of Theatre Arts. The
first generation of actors and directors trained in it was to become the first
generation of its professors subsequently. In 1960, this academy's name was
changed to the Academy of Theatre, Film, Radio and Television, in which the
students of direction were able to opt for one of these four media only after
completing the second year. The first generation of organisers and playwrights
enrolled in 1961 and the students of film editing and camera somewhat later on.
The first students of sound recording and processing enrolled in the 1997198
academic year. In 1974, this Academy became the Faculty of Dramatic Arts
(theatre, film, radio and television). This establishment is one of the oldest
members of CILECT, an international association of higher film and television
schools. The Academy and the subsequent Faculty of Theatre Arts had many
teachers and students, who made a great contribution to the Yugoslav film
industry: Vjekoslav Afric, Rados Novakovic, Aleksandar Petrovic, Ljubomir
Radicevic, Dejan Kosanovic, Marko Babac, Vladeta Lukic and others. The courses
last four years and graduates can opt for master's and doctoral courses.
The decentralisation of the Yugoslav film industry was reflected on training, so
that the Drama Department was established within the Novi Sad Art Academy for
drama (in the Serbian and Albanian languages) and (multimedia) direction
students.
The opening of private film/television schools began in Belgrade in 1995, so
that the first generations of students are attending the BK Academy, a film school
attached to Dunav film.

Radenko Rankovic, MA, Assistant Professor,

Faculty of Dramatic Arts, Belgrade, email: rsrade@eunet.yu