Aleksandar "Saša" Petrović (14 January 1929 – 20 August 1994) was a Serbian

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

. He was one of the major figures 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 and broader cultural movement starting from the early 1960s and ending in ...

Biography

Two of his films were nominated for the

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 ...

: ''

Three 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

'' in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

and '' I Even Met Happy Gypsies'' (''Feather Gatherers'') in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

. The latter (original title "Skupljaci perja") was the first movie that presented the existence of Gypsies in society and everyday life; it was also the first full-feature film where Gypsies spoke their own language, Roma. Most roles were interpreted by real Gypsies; this was their movie. "As a child, I observed them and saw in these people faith and irrationality," said Petrović ''I Even Met Happy Gypsies'' won the FIPRESCI Prize and the

Grand Prize of the Jury The Grand Prix is an award of the Cannes Film Festival bestowed by the jury of the festival on one of the competing feature films. It is the second-most prestigious prize of the festival after the Palme d'Or. History The award was first presented ...

at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

; it also received a nomination for a Golden Globe. In 1967 Petrović was a member of the jury at the

17th Berlin International Film Festival The 17th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 23 June to 4 July 1967. The Golden Bear was awarded to '' Le Départ'' directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. Jury The following people were announced as being on the jury for the festi ...

. One of his most famous films is '' It Rains in My Village''. Petrović found inspiration for this film in

Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian literature, Russian and world literature, and many of his works are consider ...

's novel '' The Possessed''. The film was nominated for a Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival In 1973, Petrović was forced to leave his post at the Belgrade Film Academy after being accused of holding

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

views by the

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

government of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. In late December 1989, he joined the founding committee of the Democratic Party in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, the first opposition anti-communist party in Serbia. Petrović published several hundreds of articles and several books, including ''Novi film I: 1960-1965'' and ''Novi film II: Crni film (1965-1970)''. He died in Paris on 20 August 1994.

Filmography

References

External links

* * *
Short biographical profile from the ''New York Times''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petrovic, Aleksandar 1929 births 1994 deaths Film people from Paris Serbian film directors Yugoslav film directors French-language film directors German-language film directors Golden Arena for Best Director winners University of Belgrade alumni Yugoslav dissidents Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery