Lordan Zafranovic
Encyclopedia
Lordan Zafranović is currently "the most controversial Croatia
n cineaste".
, Zafranović enrolled at the famous FAMU
in Prague
where he studied film directing and where he eventually graduated in 1981. He is therefore considered part of the so-called Prague School, a group of acclaimed Yugoslav directors of the 1960s/70s who all studied there (the others being Emir Kusturica
, Goran Paskaljević
and Rajko Grlić
).
His first films made in the early 1960s were mostly experimental shorts with grotesque and absurdist influences. His first notable efforts and films that marked the beginning of his regular feature filmmaking were Sunday (1969) and Passion According to Matthew (1975), the latter earning him the critics' award at the Pula Film Festival
.
trilogy, Occupation in 26 Pictures (1978) followed. This drama following a story of three young men's friendship set in World War II Dubrovnik
went on to win the Big Golden Arena
for Best Picture at Pula Film Festival
and was a huge box office hit in Yugoslavia. The other two parts of his WWII trilogy were The Fall of Italy (1981) and Evening Bells (1986).
These movies caused controversy, with their mix of erotica and politics, influenced by Pier Paolo Pasolini
, Luchino Visconti
or Bernardo Bertolucci
, and particularly because of their depiction of Croats during the World War II
. After 1990 this caused Zafranović to claim that he is a political dissident
in the post-Yugoslav Croatia.
Zafranović has been labelled a "pornographer", "one of the great masters of modernism" (Dina Iordanova), "a poseur who bombastically exploits sex and violence", "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
" (Ranko Munitić) Nonetheless his career moved from "the Communist Party's favorite author and an intense promoter of the regime" to a time when "his works have been censored and shut away in bunkers".
In the mid-1980s he turned to more intimate love themes, with films such as An Angel's Bite (1984) and Aloa: Festivity of the Whores (1988), notable for their erotics. He also directed numerous TV productions for Radio Television Belgrade
and Radio Television Zagreb
.
and slowly sunk into obscurity. During this period he made a documentary feature, The Decline of the Century: Testament L.Z. (1994), produced by the Croatian State Television but never broadcast, and later rarely screened. In the Czech Republic
he made a feature film Revenge (1995). In the 2000s, he returned to Croatia, but several of his films, which received state fund support, are still in pre-production.
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n cineaste".
First films
After receiving a degree in literature and visual arts at the University of SplitUniversity of Split
The University of Split is a university located in Split, Croatia. It was founded in 1974. and is organized in 13 faculties and 124 faculty programmes...
, Zafranović enrolled at the famous FAMU
Film and TV School of The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague
The Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague or FAMU is one of the oldest film schools in Europe. Located in Prague, Czech Republic, FAMU was founded in 1946 as one of three branches of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague...
in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
where he studied film directing and where he eventually graduated in 1981. He is therefore considered part of the so-called Prague School, a group of acclaimed Yugoslav directors of the 1960s/70s who all studied there (the others being Emir Kusturica
Emir Kusturica
Emir Nemanja Kusturica , is a Serbian filmmaker, actor and musician, recognized for several internationally acclaimed feature films...
, Goran Paskaljević
Goran Paskaljevic
Goran Paskaljević is a Serbian film director. He was raised by his grandparents in Niš, following the divorce of his parents, and 14 years later returned to Belgrade where he worked in his stepfather's cinema....
and Rajko Grlić
Rajko Grlic
Rajko Grlić is Yugoslav film director and producer from Croatia of Jewish and Serbian decent...
).
His first films made in the early 1960s were mostly experimental shorts with grotesque and absurdist influences. His first notable efforts and films that marked the beginning of his regular feature filmmaking were Sunday (1969) and Passion According to Matthew (1975), the latter earning him the critics' award at the Pula Film Festival
Pula Film Festival
The Pula Film Festival is the oldest Croatian film festival which is held annually in a Roman amphitheater known as the Pula arena since 1954. The festival is usually held in the summer, in July or August....
.
Works
His most important work, the first part of his WWIIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
trilogy, Occupation in 26 Pictures (1978) followed. This drama following a story of three young men's friendship set in World War II Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641...
went on to win the Big Golden Arena
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 Yugoslav cinema equivalent of the Academy Awards...
for Best Picture at Pula Film Festival
Pula Film Festival
The Pula Film Festival is the oldest Croatian film festival which is held annually in a Roman amphitheater known as the Pula arena since 1954. The festival is usually held in the summer, in July or August....
and was a huge box office hit in Yugoslavia. The other two parts of his WWII trilogy were The Fall of Italy (1981) and Evening Bells (1986).
These movies caused controversy, with their mix of erotica and politics, influenced by Pier Paolo Pasolini
Pier Paolo Pasolini
Pier Paolo Pasolini was an Italian film director, poet, writer, and intellectual. Pasolini distinguished himself as a poet, journalist, philosopher, linguist, novelist, playwright, filmmaker, newspaper and magazine columnist, actor, painter and political figure...
, Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo was an Italian theatre, opera and cinema director, as well as a screenwriter. He is best known for his films The Leopard and Death in Venice .-Life:...
or Bernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci is an Italian film director and screenwriter, whose films include The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris, 1900, The Last Emperor and The Dreamers...
, and particularly because of their depiction of Croats during the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. After 1990 this caused Zafranović to claim that he is a political dissident
Dissident
A dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine, policy, or institution. When dissidents unite for a common cause they often effect a dissident movement....
in the post-Yugoslav Croatia.
Zafranović has been labelled a "pornographer", "one of the great masters of modernism" (Dina Iordanova), "a poseur who bombastically exploits sex and violence", "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
Liliana Cavani is an Italian film director and screenwriter. She belongs to a generation of Italian filmmakers that came into prominence in the 1970s and includes Bernardo Bertolucci, Pier Paolo Pasolini and Marco Bellochio. Cavani became internationally known after the success of her 1974 feature...
" (Ranko Munitić) Nonetheless his career moved from "the Communist Party's favorite author and an intense promoter of the regime" to a time when "his works have been censored and shut away in bunkers".
In the mid-1980s he turned to more intimate love themes, with films such as An Angel's Bite (1984) and Aloa: Festivity of the Whores (1988), notable for their erotics. He also directed numerous TV productions for Radio Television Belgrade
Radio Television of Serbia
Radio Television of Serbia or Serbian Broadcasting Corporation is the public broadcaster in Serbia. It broadcasts and produces a variety of news, drama, and sports programming through radio, television and the Internet. RTS is, since July 2001, a member of the European Broadcasting Union. RTS is...
and Radio Television Zagreb
Croatian Radiotelevision
Croatian Radiotelevision is a Croatian public broadcasting company. It operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmitter network as well as satellite...
.
Obscurity
During the political turmoil in the early 1990s he moved to PraguePrague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
and slowly sunk into obscurity. During this period he made a documentary feature, The Decline of the Century: Testament L.Z. (1994), produced by the Croatian State Television but never broadcast, and later rarely screened. In the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
he made a feature film Revenge (1995). In the 2000s, he returned to Croatia, but several of his films, which received state fund support, are still in pre-production.
Filmography
- SundaySunday (1969 film)Nedjelja is a 1969 Croatian film directed by Lordan Zafranović....
(Nedjelja; 1969) - Chronicle of a CrimeChronicle of a CrimeChronicle of a Crime is a 1973 Croatian film directed by Lordan Zafranović....
(Kronika jednog zločina; a compilation of three short films, 1973) - Passion According to MatthewPassion According to MatthewPassion According to Matthew is a 1975 Croatian film directed by Lordan Zafranović....
(Muke po Mati; 1975) - Occupation in 26 PicturesOccupation in 26 PicturesOccupation in 26 Pictures, also known as Occupation in 26 Tableaux , is a 1978 Yugoslavian war film directed by Lordan Zafranović. It was entered into the 1979 Cannes Film Festival.-Plot:...
(Okupacija u 26 slika; 1978) - The Fall of ItalyThe Fall of ItalyThe Fall of Italy , is a 1981 Yugoslav war film directed by Lordan Zafranović.It won the Big Golden Arena for Best Film at the 1981 Pula Film Festival.-External links:* at Filmski-Programi.hr...
(Pad Italije; 1981) - Jasenovac: The Cruelest Death Camp of All Times (Krv i pepeo Jasenovca; 1983)
- Angel's BiteAngel's BiteUjed anđela is a 1984 Croatian film directed by Lordan Zafranović....
(Ujed anđela; 1984) - Evening Bells (Večernja zvona; 1986)
- Aloa: Festivity of the WhoresAloa: Festivity of the WhoresAloa: Festivity of the Whores is a 1988 Yugoslav film directed by Lordan Zafranović....
(Haloa - praznik kurvi; 1988) - The Decline of the Century: Testament L.Z. (Zalazak stoljeća; 1994)
- Revenge (Ma je pomsta; 1995)