The Oscar-winning director will be discussing boundaries between genres in contemporary filmmaking.
As we’re anxiously waiting for Zagreb Flim Festival and PSSST! Silent Film Festival to start, MM Centar (Savska 25) is organising a real treat for all film lovers – free masterclass on the boundaries between genres in contemporary filmmaking.
Due to his experimenting with boundaries between feature films and documentaries, Danis Tanović has won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and two Silver Bears at Berlin International Film Festival.
Born in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, this film director, producer and screenwriter, attended the Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo and when the Siege of Sarajevo started, he and his crew followed the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina into dangerous missions to make documentaries. Tanović later resumed his studies in Brussels and was at the top of his class when he graduated in 1997.
His first feature film, No Man’s Land premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2001 and, in addition to winning the Award for Best Screenplay at Cannes, the film also won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, as well as 40 other awards, making it the most awarded first feature film in history of filmmaking.
Mr Tanović went on to make Cirkus Columba, An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker, and Death in Sarajevo, all critically acclaimed films.
In this masterclass, Mr Tanović will try to bring his unconventional approach to filmmaking in combining feature film and documentary genres.
Death in Sarajevo, which won a Silver Bear in Berlin in 2016, started off as a documentary with real interviews on Gavrilo Princip, and the film later developed into a feature film with elements of freedom of acting and improvisation.
On the other hand, his film An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker, which won two Silver Bears in Berlin in 2013, one for Best Film and a special award for Best Actor, was filmed in a documentary style, confirming that the line between the two genres is very thin and that the two genres work well together.
The film was made in only nine days, with EUR 30,000 in funding and none of the actors were professionals.
Even though he says that he doesn’t have a style, Danis Tanović stands out as a prolific director and screenwriter portraying difficult subjects in a specific way.
The lecture starts at 5 p.m. and it will be moderated by Nebojša Slijepčević. Entrance is free.
Find out more here.
