Sofija "Soja" Jovanović ( sr-Cyrl, Соја Јовановић, ; 1 February 1922 – 22 April 2002) was the first Serbian and Yugoslav female

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 ...

, noted for her work in

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

, TV and film productions.

Biography

After studying at the Theater Department of the Belgrade Music Academy, her first success was the stage production of

Branislav Nušić Branislav Nušić ( sr-Cyrl, Бранислав Нушић, ; – 19 January 1938) was a Serbian playwright, satirist, essayist, novelist and founder of Modern Rhetoric, modern rhetoric in Serbia. He also worked as a journalist and a civil ...

's play ''A Suspicious Character ()'' in 1948, for which she was awarded at the Festival of Academy Theaters of Yugoslavia. Apart from theater productions, she also directed a number of films, mostly based on comedies written by

, Jovan Sterija Popović, Stevan Sremac and

Branko Ćopić Branko Ćopić ( sr-Cyrl, Бранко Ћопић, ; 1 January 1915 – 26 March 1984) was a Yugoslav writer. He wrote poetry, short stories, and novels, and became famous for his stories for children and young adults, often set during World War ...

. Her first film was ''A Suspicious Character'' in 1954 which she co-directed with Predrag Dinulović. In 1957 she directed '' Priests Ćira and Spira'', which was the first Yugoslavian feature film shot in color and for which she won the Golden Arena for Best Director at the 1957

Pula Film Festival Pula Film 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 in the summer, in July or Aug ...

. She also directed a number of TV films and

radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the liste ...

s produced by Radio Television Belgrade until the early 1980s when she retired.

Filmography

* ''A Suspicious Character'' (''Sumnjivo lice'', 1954) * '' Priests Ćira and Spira'' (''Pop Ćira i pop Spira'', 1957) * ''The Dreams Came by Coach'' (''Diližansa snova'', 1960) * Dr (1962) * Put oko sveta (1964) * '' Eagles Fly Early'' (''Orlovi rano lete'', 1966) * Pusti snovi (1968) * Silom otac (1969)

External links

* 1922 births 2002 deaths Serbian film directors Serbian women film directors Golden Arena for Best Director winners Yugoslav film directors Yugoslav women film directors Theatre people from Belgrade Film people from Belgrade {{Serbia-film-director-stub