''I Even Met Happy Gypsies'' is a 1967 Yugoslav film by Serbian director Aleksandar Petrović. Its original

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also

* * * Old Serbian (disambiguat ...

title is ''Skupljači perja'', which means ''The Feather Gatherers''. The film is centered on Romani people's life in a village in northern Vojvodina, but it also deals with subtler themes such as love, ethnic and social relationships. Beside Bekim Fehmiu, Olivera Vučo,

Bata Živojinović Velimir "Bata" Živojinović ( sr-Cyrl, Велимир "Бата" Живојиновић; 5 June 1933 – 22 May 2016) was a Yugoslav and Serbian actor and politician. He appeared in more than 340 films and TV series, and is regarded as one of ...

and Mija Aleksić, film features a cast of Romani actors speaking the Romani language. ''I Even Met Happy Gypsies'' is considered one of the best films of the

Black Wave Yugoslav Black Wave (also referred to as Black Wave; or sh-Latn-Cyrl, label=none, separator=" / ", Crni talas, Црни талас) is a blanket term for a Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav film movement of the 1960s and early ...

in Yugoslav cinema.

Plot

The protagonist, Beli Bora Perjar ( Bekim Fehmiu), is a charming but mean-spirited gypsy, while his former affair, the '' kafana'' singer Lenče ( Olivera Vučo), is submissive. Bora is in love with the younger Tisa ( Gordana Jovanović), who is being offered in marriage by her step-father. The two get themselves in trouble and eventually have to flee. Tisa rejects her husband and she and Bora get married in the church. Tisa tries to get to

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

, while Bora stabs a man in a knife fight. They are both, therefore, exiled from their Romani camp, yet their adventures continue.

Cast

* Bekim Fehmiu as Beli Bora Perjar * Olivera Vučo as Lenče *

as Mirta * Gordana Jovanović as Tisa * Mija Aleksić as Pavle Rest of cast listed alphabetically: * Severin Bijelić as Bigoted man *

Stojan Dečermić Stojan () is a masculine given name of Slavic origin. Notable people with the name include: *Stojan Gjuroski (born 1991), basketball player *Stojan Andov (born 1935), politician * Stojan Aralica (1883–1980), painter *Stojan Čupić (1765–1815) ...

as Hladnjača driver 1 *

Milivoje Đorđević Milivoje ( sr, Миливоје) is a masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: *Milivoje Blaznavac (1824–1873), Serbian soldier and politician *Milivoje Božović (born 1985), Serbian professional basketball player * Milivoje M ...

as Sandor *

Rahela Ferari Bella Rochel Fraynd (; 27 August 1911 – 12 February 1994), known as Rahela Ferari (), was a Serbian actress who appeared in more than ninety films from 1951 to 1993. She was of Ashkenazi (Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or J ...

as Igumanija *

Etelka Filipovski Etelka or Etelke is a Hungarian given name. It is the female equivalent of Etele, a variant of Attila. It may have originated as the name of the title character in the 1788 novel ' by . It is sometimes translated into English as Adelaide. People w ...

as Bora's wife *

Milorad Jovanović Milorad (Cyrillic script: Милорад; Polish: Miłorad) is an old Serbian masculine given name derived from the Slavic elements: ''milo'' meaning "gracious, dear" and ''rad'' meaning "work, care, joy". The feminine form is Milorada. Nicknames: ...

as Toni *

Zoran Longinović Zoran ( sr-Cyrl, Зоран) is a common South Slavic name, the masculine form of Zora, which means ''dawn, daybreak''. The name is especially common in Serbia, North Macedonia, Croatia and a little in Slovenia. Notable people with this given na ...

as Islednik 1 * Branislav-Ciga Milenković * Božidar Pavičević-Longa as Hladnjača driver 2 * Velizar Petrović * Djordje Pura as Islednik 2 * Nina Sajin * Milivoje Tomić as Romanian *

Janez Vrhovec Janez Vrhovec (19 January 1921 – 7 October 1997) was a Yugoslav actor of Slovenian-German origin. Vrhovec appeared in a number of Yugoslav and Serbian films, as well as many international productions, in a career spanning almost five decade ...

as judge

Reception

The film was the most popular film in Belgrade for the year with 400,000 admissions, compared to an average of 60,000.

Awards

At the

1967 Cannes Film Festival The 20th Cannes Film Festival was held from 27 April to 12 May 1967. The Grand Prix du Festival International du Film went to the ''Blowup'' by Michelangelo Antonioni. The festival opened with '' J'ai tué Raspoutine'', directed by Robert Hosse ...

it was nominated for the Palme d'Or and won the Special Grand Prize of the Jury and the

FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...

Prize. The film was nominated for the 1967

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

(event in April 1968) and for the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

also won a Golden Arena award for Best Actor at the 1967 Pula Film Festival for his portrayal of Mirta.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1967 films Films directed by Aleksandar Petrović Serbo-Croatian-language films Serbian drama films Avala Film films Romani films Films set in Vojvodina Yugoslav drama films Films set in Yugoslavia Romani-language films Films shot in Serbia Films set in Belgrade Cannes Grand Prix winners Films about Romani people