Lordan Zafranović (born 11 February 1944) is a Czech-Croatian film director. He was a major figure of the

Yugoslav 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 Yugoslav film movement of the 1960s and early 1970s. Notable directors include Dušan M ...

Early life

Lordan Zafranović was born in 1944 in Maslinica, island of Šolta, Dalmatia, during the fascist occupation of Yugoslavia. He spent the first two years of his life in the El Shatt refugee camp together with his mother Marija and his older brother Zdenko. After the war, the family reunited with father Ivan and moved to Split, where younger brother Andrija was born. He graduated in ship-engineering from the Split Marine School in 1962 and continued with studies in literature and fine arts at the Split Pedagogical Academy (later University of Split) from 1963 to 1967.

Work

Zafranović belongs to the Prague wave (sometimes also called Praška filmska škola), a generation of acclaimed Yugoslav directors who had studied at the Prague Film School ( FAMU) around 1968. His peers were

Rajko Grlić Rajko Grlić (born 2 September 1947) is a Croatian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is a professor of film theory at Ohio University and artistic director of the Motovun Film Festival in Motovun, Croatia. Biography Rajko Grlić wa ...

, Goran Marković, Goran Paskaljević,

Srđan Karanović Srđan Karanović ( sr-Cyrl, Срђан Карановић, , born 17 November 1945) is a Serbian film director and screenwriter. He has directed 17 films since 1968. His film '' Miris poljskog cveća'' won the FIPRESCI prize at the 1978 Canne ...

, and cameraman Predrag Pega Popović. A generation later, also director

Emir Kusturica Emir Kusturica ( sr-cyrl, Емир Кустурица; born 24 November 1954) is a Serbian film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and musician. He also has French citizenship.http://www.serbia.com/emir-kusturica-artist-builder-and-anti-glo ...

, cameraman Vilko Filač, and Lordan's younger brother, film editor Andrija Zafranović studied at FAMU. Lordan Zafranović started his film career as an amateur at Kino klub Split in 1961 at age 15. From 1965 onwards, he worked as a professional, entering FAMU in 1967 as an already mature author with festival experience and awards, namely for his seminal experimental short '' Poslije podne (Puška)'' (1968). He was awarded Master of International Amateur Film in 1966 and graduated in film directing as a master student of Academy Award winner

Elmar Klos Elmar Klos (26 January 1910 – 19 July 1993) was a Czech film director who collaborated for 17 years with his Slovak colleague Ján Kadár and with him won the 1965 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for the film ''The Shop on Main Street ...

in 1971. Lordan Zafranović's first feature films are ''

Sunday Sunday is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. In most Western countries, Sunday is a day of rest and a part of the weekend. It is often considered the first day of the week. For most observant adherents of Christianity, Sund ...

'' (1969), with Goran Marković in the leading role, and '' Passion According to Matthew'' (1975), which earned him the critics' award at the

Pula Film Festival Pula Film Festival ( hr, Pulski filmski festival) is an annual Croatian film festival, established in 1954. It is held in a Roman amphitheater known as the Pula Arena. Pula Film Festival is the oldest Croatian film festival and is usually held ...

.Daniel J. Goulding: Liberated Cinema. The Yugoslav Experience, 1945–2001. Bloomington: Indiana University Press 2002. His best known work however is the cult film '' Occupation in 26 Pictures'' (1978), which he co-wrote, as his previous feature film, with acclaimed writer Mirko Kovač. The film reinvented the genre of the Yugoslav Partisan film with its lush Mediterranean setting of

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranea ...

and its aesthetics, contrasting the happiness of an affluent aristocratic family and her friends with the arrival of evil, through fascist occupation and violence, and the collapse of morale and society. The film was a huge box office hit in

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

and in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. It won the

Big Golden Arena The Golden Arena awards were established in 1955 as the Yugoslav national film awards presented annually at the Pula Film Festival in Pula, Croatia, with the Big Golden Arena for Best Film its main prize. From 1955 to 1990 the awards were the Y ...

for Best Picture at the

. It was nominated for the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

and submitted as Yugoslavia's entry for the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

. In Hollywood, the film was regarded as a favourite, if only the director agreed to shorten the scene of a brutal massacre in an autobus, the climax of the film. Zafranović declined – and lost the Oscar. He continued his

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

trilogy with '' The Fall of Italy'' (1981), set in his native island Šolta during the Italian occupation, which evolves around the rise and fall of a young Partisan officer who is corrupted by power, and '' Evening Bells'' (1986), also co-written with Mirko Kovač, which tells the life of a village lad (played by

Rade Šerbedžija Rade Šerbedžija ( sr-Cyrl, Раде Шербеџија, ; born 27 July 1946) is a Croatian actor, director and musician. He is known for his portrayals of imposing figures on both sides of the law. He was one of the best known Yugoslav actors i ...

) who went to the city and became a Partisan, and who then ended up first in internment in Nazi Germany and second, after the Tito-Stalin split in 1948, in a Yugoslav prison. ''The Fall of Italy'' won him the

for the second time, ''Evening Bells'' the

Golden Arena for Best Director The Golden Arena for Best Director ''( Croatian: Zlatna arena za režiju'') is an award given for best director at the Pula Film Festival, which was until 1992 the Yugoslav equivalent of the Academy Awards. Since 1992 and the breakup of Yugosla ...

at the

. In the mid-1980s Zafranović returned to more intimate themes, with films such as ''An Angel's Bite'' (1984) and ''Aloa: Festivity of the Whores'' (1988), notable for their psychological drama and erotics. He also directed numerous TV productions for Radio Television Belgrade and

Radio Television Zagreb ''Hrvatska radiotelevizija'' (abbr. HRT), or Croatian Radiotelevision, is Croatia's public broadcasting company. It operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmitter network as well as satellite. HRT is divided into thr ...

. In his long and productive career, Zafranović succeeded in realizing his films without betraying his creative vision and professional ethos, against all odds. He has been praised as "one of the great masters of modernism" (

Dina Iordanova Dina Iordanova (born 1960) is an educationalist and Professor of Film Studies at the University of St. Andrews. A specialist in world cinema, her special expertise is in the cinema of the Balkans, Eastern Europe, and Europe in general. Her researc ...

), "one of the great masters of Yugoslav film", and "a Mediterranean classic whose films can be compared with those by Angelopoulos, Bertolucci or

Liliana Cavani Liliana Cavani (born 12 January 1933, Carpi, Italy) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. She belongs to a generation of Italian filmmakers from Emilia-Romagna that came into prominence in the 1970s, including Bernardo Bertolucci, Pier P ...

" ( Ranko Munitić), whereas his enemies denounced him as a "regime's director" indulging in "manierism" (Nenad Polimac). British-Bulgarian film researcher Dina Iordanova correctly states that his "main occupation has been to explore the pressures experienced by ordinary people under extreme historical circumstances. His films challenge the deepest foundations of nationalism and question the justification of historical violence." As in the case of other authentic and free thinking Yugoslav directors, namely

Dušan Makavejev Dušan Makavejev ( sr-Cyrl, Душан Макавејев, ; 13 October 1932 – 25 January 2019) was a Serbian film director and screenwriter, famous for his groundbreaking films of Yugoslav cinema in the late 1960s and early 1970s—many of wh ...

Želimir Žilnik Želimir Žilnik ( sr-cyr, Желимир Жилник; ; born 8 September 1942) is a Serbian film director best known as one of the major figures of the Yugoslav Black Wave film movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Early life Žilnik was born in 19 ...

, Zafranović's films often caused controversy. This culminated in his occupation with the crimes of the

NDH The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It was established in ...

and the

Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian Fascism, fascist and ultranationalism, ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaš ...

during World War II and his documentaries '' Jasenovac: The Cruelest Death Camp of All Times'' (1983) and '' Decline of the Century: The Testament of L.Z.'' (1993) about the war crimes trial against

Minister of Interior Andrija Artuković. His rich and eminent opus is currently rediscovered throughout the former Yugoslavia and beyond, also in Croatia. As Jasna Nanut puts it, Lordan Zafranović's work as a whole awaits critical valorization as "an indispensable and essential part of Croat cinematography."

Exile and return to Croatia

Shortly before the break-up of Yugoslavia in 1991, Zafranović joined the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Croatia in 1989 for a short period. Because of his movie ''Jasenovac: The Cruelest Death Camp of All Times'' (''Krv i pepeo Jasenovca),'' when

Franjo Tuđman Franjo Tuđman (; 14 May 1922 – 10 December 1999), also written as Franjo Tudjman, was a Croatian politician and historian. Following the country's independence from Yugoslavia, he became the first president of Croatia and served as p ...

came to power as the first President of Republic

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

and after Croatia became independent country, Zafranović was declared by Croatian President as "Enemy of Croatian people" and forced to leave the country. He took along his film on Artuković, which he finished in exile as a personal account on the reemergence of fascist ideology and violence in Croatia: His Decline of the Century: The Testament of L.Z. (1993) is, in the words of

"a powerful indictment of past and present-day Croatian nationalism". He settled in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

and continued to work for

Czech Television Czech Television ( cs, Česká televize, italics=no ; abbreviation: ČT) is a public television broadcaster in the Czech Republic, broadcasting seven channels. Established after the Velvet Revolution in 1992, it is the successor to Czechos ...

. More than a decade later, he returned to

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

to make his monumental TV series on

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his death ...

, ''Tito – the Last Witnesses of the Testament'' (2011), co-produced by

Filmography

Amateur short films at Kino klub Split * ''Sunday'' (''Nedelja''; 1961) * ''The Boy and the Sea'' (''Dječak i more''; 1962) * ''City of Split'' (''Splite grade''; 1962) * ''Ranko the Producer'' (''Proizvođac Ranko''; 1962) * ''Story'' (''Priča''; 1963) * ''Diary'' (''Dnevnik''; 1964) * ''Breath'' (''Dah''; 1964) * ''Aria'' (''Arija''; 1965) * ''Night and After Night's Night'' (''Noć i poslije noći, noć''; 1965) * ''Concerto'' (''Koncert''; 1965) * ''Rainy (An Innocent Saturday)'' (''Kišno (Nevina subota''; 1965) * ''Sunny'' (''Sunčano''; 1965) * ''Mistral'' (''Maestral''; 1967) FAMU student films * ''Rondo'' (1968) * ''Lady Cleaner'' (''Gospođa čistačica''; 1969) * ''The Last Tape'' (''Posljedjna vrpca''; 1970) Professional films * ''Long Live the Youth (Diary 2)'' (''[Živjela mladost (Dnevnik 2)''; 1965) * ''Portraits (Passing by)'' (''Portreti (u prolazu)''; 1966) * ''Little Rascal'' (''Mali vagabund''; 1966) * ''Johnny Dear they Stole Your Gold'' (''Dragi Džoni kradeju ti zlato''; 1966) * ''Day and Night (Piazza)'' (''Dan i noć (Pjaca)''; 1966) * ''Upper City'' (''Gornji grad''; 1966) * ''Cavalcade (three films)'' (''Kavalkada (tri filma]''; 1967) * ''Girl X'' (''Djevojka X''; 1967) * ''People (Passers-by)'' (''Ljudi (u prolazu)''; 1967) * ''Afternoon (Rifle)'' (''Poslije podne (puška)''; 1967) * ''Sunday'' (''Nedjelja''; 1969) * ''Waltz (My First Dance'' (''Valcer (moj prvi ples''; 1970) * ''Ave Maria (My First Bender'' (''Ave Marija (moje prvo pijanstvo''; 1971) * ''Antique'' (''Antika''; 1971) * ''The Seas'' (''Mora''; 1972) * ''Suburbs of Isis'' (''Predgrađe (Ibisa)''; 1972) * ''Zavnoh'' (1973) * ''Murder on the Night Train'' (''Ubistvo u noćnom vozu''; 1973) * ''Chronicle of Crime'' (''Kronika jednog zločinca''; 1973) * ''Labour Builds the City'' (''Rad zida grad''; 1974) * ''Sleep (de natura sonoris)'' (''San (de natura sonoris)''; 1975) * '' Passion According to Matthew'' (''Muke po Mati''; 1975) * ''Zagreb Fair'' (''Zagrebački velesajam''; 1976) * ''Film on Guests and Workers'' (''Film o gostima i radnicima''; 1977) * '' Occupation in 26 Pictures'' (''Okupacija u 26 slika''; 1978) * ''A Free Interpretation'' (''Slobodna interpretacija''; 1979) * ''Zagreb Lives with Tito'' (''Zagreb živi s Titom''; 1980) * '' The Fall of Italy'' (''Pad Italije''; 1981) * ''Homeland (Vladimir Nazor)'' (''Zavičaj (Vladimir Nazor)''; 1982) * '' Angel's Bite'' (''Ujed anđela''; 1983) * ''Jasenovac: The Cruelest Death Camp of All Times'' (''Krv i pepeo Jasenovca''; 1985) * '' Evening Bells'' (''Večernja zvona''; 1986) * ''Mare adriaticum'' (1986) * ''Amorella'' (1987) * ''Aloa (The Whores' Festival)'' (''Haloa (Praznik kurvi)''; 1988) * ''Decline of the Century: The Testament of L.Z.'' (''Zalazak stoljeća: Testament L.Z.''; 1993) * ''Lacrimosa (The Vengeance is Mine'' (''Lacrimosa (Má je pomsta''; 1995) * ''Who is M.Š.'' (''Kdo je M.Š.''; 2000) * ''Terracotta Faces'' (''Lica terakota''; 2003) * ''The Eyes of Beijing'' (''Oči Pekinga''; 2003) * ''Celestial City Symphony'' (''Simfonija nebeskog grada''; 2003) * ''Tito – the Last Witnesses of the Testament'': 1. Prologue (''Tito – posljednji svjedoci testamenta'': 1. Proslov; 2011) * ''Tito – the Last Witnesses of the Testament'': 2. Underground (''Tito – posljednji svjedoci testamenta'': 2. Ilegala; 2011) * ''Tito – the Last Witnesses of the Testament'': 3. Daybreak (''Tito – posljednji svjedoci testamenta'': 3. Praskozorje; 2011) * ''Tito – the Last Witnesses of the Testament'': 4. Uprising (''Tito – posljednji svjedoci testamenta'': 4. Ustanak; 2011) * ''Tito – the Last Witnesses of the Testament'': 5. Pain and Hope (''Tito – posljednji svjedoci testamenta'': 5. Patnja i nada; 2011) * ''Tito – the Last Witnesses of the Testament'': 6. The Fight (''Tito – posljednji svjedoci testamenta'': 6. Borba; 2011) * ''Tito – the Last Witnesses of the Testament'': 7. Creation (''Tito – posljednji svjedoci testamenta'': 7. Stvaranje; 2011) * ''Tito – the Last Witnesses of the Testament'': 8. Victory and Reprisal (''Tito – posljednji svjedoci testamenta'': 8. Pobjeda i odmazda; 2011) * ''Tito – the Last Witnesses of the Testament'': 9. Conquest (''Tito – posljednji svjedoci testamenta'': 9. Conquest; 2011) * ''Tito – the Last Witnesses of the Testament'': 10. Blossoming (''Tito – posljednji svjedoci testamenta'': 10. Procvat; 2011) * ''Tito – the Last Witnesses of the Testament'': 11. 777 Weeks (''Tito – posljednji svjedoci testamenta'': 11. 777 sedmica; 2011) * ''Tito – the Last Witnesses of the Testament'': 12. Discord (''Tito – posljednji svjedoci testamenta'': 12. Razdor; 2011) * ''Tito – the Last Witnesses of the Testament'': 13. Death (''Tito – posljednji svjedoci testamenta'': 13. Smrt; 2011) * ''Zeitgeist'' (''Duh vremena''; 2018) Work in Progress and Preproduction * ''Karuso'' * ''Moć Ljubavi'' * ''Djeca Kozare'' * ''Jasenovac'' * ''Miss Sarajevo'' * ''Sestre'' * ''Posljednja priča stoljeća (Ostrvo Balkan)'' * ''Bizarno''

References

External links

* *
Profile

Full profile in English at the ''Croatian Film Database''English page of Zafranović's retrospective in Zagreb, December 2006Režiser Lordan Zafranović
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zafranovic, Lordan 1944 births Croatian film directors Croatian screenwriters Living people Academy of Performing Arts in Prague alumni Vladimir Nazor Award winners Golden Arena for Best Director winners Yugoslav film directors Central Committee of the League of Communists of Croatia members Croatian politicians Croatian documentary film directors People from Split-Dalmatia County