Dušan Kovačević ( sr-Cyrl, Душан Ковачевић, ; born 12 July 1948) is a Serbian

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

, scriptwriter, film director and academic best known for his theatre plays and movie scripts. He also served as the ambassador of

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 ...

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

Biography

Kovačević was born in Mrđenovac near

Šabac Šabac ( sr-Cyrl, Шабац, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative centre of the Mačva District in western Serbia. The traditional centre of the fertile Mačva region, Šabac is located on the right banks of the river ...

PR Serbia The Socialist Republic of Serbia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Социјалистичка Република Србија, Socijalistička Republika Srbija), previously known as the People's Republic of Serbia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / " ...

, FPR Yugoslavia, graduated from Svetozar Marković Gymnasium in

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

, and received a bachelor's degree in dramaturgy from the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade () is a public university, public research university in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it me ...

in 1973. From 1973, he worked as a dramaturge at ''TV Beograd'' for five years. Since 1998, he has been the artistic director of ''Zvezdara teatar''. In 2003 he directed his first movie, ''Profesionalac'' ('' The Professional''). Kovačević's prolific work is well known and popular in Serbia. His comedies have been translated into 20 languages, but his work didn't become available in English until the mid-1990s. A declared

royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

, Dušan Kovačević is a member of the Crown Council of Aleksandar Karađorđević. He is also a member of the

Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (; , SANU) is a national academy and the most prominent academic institution in Serbia, founded in 1841 as Society of Serbian Letters (, DSS). The Academy's membership has included Nobel Prize, Nobel la ...

. In 2020 he was awarded the Sretenje order of the Republic of Serbia. His daughter Lena Kovačević is a jazz singer.

Selected works

Plays

* ''Radovan Treći'' - Radovan III (1973) * '' Maratonci trče počasni krug'' - The Marathon Runners Run a Victory Lap of Honor (1973) * '' Proleće u januaru'' - The Spring in January (1977) * '' Sabirni centar'' - The Gathering Place (1982) * '' Balkanski špijun'' - Balkan Spy (1982) * '' Sveti Georgije ubiva aždahu'' - St. George Shoots the Dragon (1984) * ''Klaustofobična Komedija '' - Claustrophobic Comedy (1987) * '' Profesionalac'' - The Professional (1990) * ''Urnebesna Tragedija'' - Roaring Tragedy (also translated as Tragedy Burlesque; 1990) * ''Lari Tompson, tragedija jedne mladosti'' - Larry Thompson, the Tragedy of a Youth (1996) * ''Kontejner sa Pet Zvezdica'' - Five-Star Dumpster (1999) * ''Doktor Šuster'' - Doctor Shoemaker (2001) * ''Generalna proba samoubistva'' - Dress Rehearsal for a Suicide (2009) * ''Život u tesnim cipelama'' - Life in tight shoes (2011) * ''Kumovi'' - Godfathers (2013) * ''Rođendan gospodina Nušića'' - The birthday of Mr Nušić (2014) * ''Hipnoza jedne ljubavi'' - Hypnosis of one love (2016)

Screenplays

* ''Bestije,''1977 * ''Poseban tretman,'' 1980 (''Special Treatment'') * ''Ko to tamo peva,'' 1980 ('' Who's Singing Over There?'') * ''Maratonci trče počasni krug,'' 1982 ( ''The Marathon Runners Run a Victory Lap of Hono''r) * ''Balkanski špijun,'' 1984 ''( Balkan Spy'') * ''Sabirni Centar,'' 1989 ('' The Gathering Place'') * ''Pod zemlja,'' 1995 ('' Underground'' ), directed by

Emir Kusturica Emir Kusturica ( sr-cyrl, Емир Кустурица, ; born 24 November 1954) is a Serbian film director, screenwriter, actor, film producer and musician. Kusturica has been an active filmmaker since the 1980s. He has competed at the Cannes ...

, won the

Palme d'Or The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...

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 ...

. His adaptation of his play called ''Proleće u januaru'' (''Spring in January).'' * ''Profesionalac,'' 2003 ('' The Professional''), also director. * ''Sveti Georgije ubiva aždahu'', 2003 ('' St. George Kills the Dragon'') * ''Nije loše biti čovek,'' 2021 ( Not Bad to be a Human), also director. His adaptation of his play ''Kumovi.''

Poetry

* ''Ja to tamo pevam'' (2020)

References

* Barnett, Dennis. An interview with Dusan Kovacevic, Belgrade, August 1997. * Kovačević, Dušan. ''Odabrane Drame I'', Vreme Knjige:Beograd, 1994. * Kovačević, Dušan. ''Odabrane Drame II'', Vreme Knjige:Beograd, 1994. * Kovačević, Dušan. ''Odabrane Drame III'', Vreme Knjige:Beograd, 1998.

External links

Zvezdara Theater
*
Intervju: Dušan Kovačević
''Wine Style'', March 12, 2009
Srbiju trese pljačkaška groznica
''Blic'', May 3, 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kovacevic, Dusan 1948 births Living people Writers from Šabac Serbian dramatists and playwrights Ambassadors of Serbia to Portugal Members of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts University of Belgrade alumni Golden Arena winners Serbian screenwriters Serbian male screenwriters