Emir Kusturica is one of the few modern directors of independent cinema who balance on the brink of mainstream and underground. His paintings delight both critics and spectators. If you have seen at least one film by Kusturtsy, you will probably agree that his work is an exciting journey that opens up a whole world of Balkan culture, in which there is everything - happiness, fun and grief. As a director, Emir Kusturica is very famous today. The best films are known and loved far beyond the borders of his native country. However, Kusturica considers her real vocation not directing, but music. He claims that only in his spare time he makes films.
Director's Origin
Emir Kusturica was born in Sarajevo on November 24, 1954. Sarajevo is a city that was then the capital of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is part of Yugoslavia. Today it is the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an independent state. The parents of the future director were non-practicing Muslims, however, according to the claims of Emir himself, his distant ancestors were Orthodox Serbs. Murat Kusturica, Emir’s father, was a member of the Communist Party. He served in the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Training, first films
During his studies at the gymnasium, Emir became seriously interested in football. At one time, he even wanted to play in a professional club. But I had to forget about the career of a football player due to joint disease. Kusturica around the same time became interested in cinema. He created a small amateur tape that unexpectedly received an award for him.
When Kusturica was 18 years old, he went to Prague in order to get an education. At that time, his aunt lived in this city. As Emir recalls, being in the center of European civilization was a real shock for him. The emir decided to choose the faculty of film and television of the Prague Academy of Performing Arts. This is a very prestigious educational institution. At different times, his graduates were Jiri Menzel, Milos Forman and Goran Paskalevich. Kusturica created his first films during his studies in Prague. In 1971, Part of the Truth appeared, a short film, and the next year, Autumn.
Graduate work
Emir's thesis was the 25-minute tape “Guernica” (1978). It tells the story of a Jewish boy in the late 1930s. Kusturica's film is directed against anti-Semitism and Nazism. In this picture, Emir was both a screenwriter, director and cameraman. The film received the main prize in Karlovy Vary, at the student film festival.
Return to Sarajevo
After returning to his hometown, Kusturica made two films for local television. In 1978, the painting "Brides Come." However, due to moral and ethical considerations, this film was never shown on the screen. Emir Kusturica later said in an interview that removing this tape was a very bold act, since the topics covered in the film were taboo in socialist Yugoslavia. After creating this picture, Emir’s collaboration with cameraman Vilko Filach began.
Another television movie appeared in 1979 - "Cafe" Titanic "". It was shot based on the novel by Ivo Andrich. Events unfold in Sarajevo, during the Second World War.
"Do you remember Dolly Bell?"
The director's full-length debut took place in 1981 with the release of this film. Slavko Ĺ timac played a major role. This is the first Yugoslav picture shot in the Bosnian dialect, and not in the official Serbo-Croatian language. The first major success was brought to Kusturica by this work - an award for the best debut picture of the Venice Film Festival and a FIPRESCI prize. Emir came to the official screening of this film directly from the barracks, because at that time the director served in the army! The film tells about a young man from Sarajevo, who was just entering adulthood, about his childhood and growing up, about his first love, about the future, as it seemed to him in the early 1960s. The director has repeatedly emphasized that this work is an autobiography of several generations.
"Dad on a business trip"
Only 4 years later Kusturica pleased the audience with a new film. In 1985, the painting "Dad on a business trip" appeared. This film is dedicated to the post-war period in Yugoslavia, which was seen through the eyes of a child. Marshal Tito was no longer alive by the time the picture appeared, however, despite this, his quarrel with Stalin and the post-war repressions mentioned in the film were still forbidden topics. In this work, Kusturica first shot Mirjana Karanovich, Predrag Manoilovic and Davor Dujmovic. These actors subsequently participated in several other films of the director. Kusturica received the Golden Palm Branch for his painting, as well as the FIPRESCI Prize. In addition, the picture was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar. Milos Forman, who handed Emir the Golden Palm Branch, called him the main hope of world cinema.
The film "Time of the Gypsies"
"Time of the Gypsies" is the third picture of Kusturica. It was created in 1988 with the participation of Italian and British producers. The film, shot in Macedonia, became the first appeal of the Emir to the Gypsy theme, as well as the first film in the history of cinema in the Gypsy language about Gypsies. Davor Duymovich starred in the title role - he played the teenager Perhan. Emir Kusturica attracted Goran Bregovic to work on the film. Music for the picture was created by him. Kusturica collaborated with Goran in the next two films. The director was awarded a prize for directing at the Cannes Film Festival for "Time of the Gypsies". At about the same time, Emir Kusturica began to play bass guitar in a punk rock band from Sarajevo Zabranjeno Pušenje. However, she soon ceased to exist for a while.
Trip to the USA
Director Emir Kusturica, who already had little experience working at the Sarajevo film school (he was fired from it after he started playing in the Zabranjeno Pušenje group), was invited by M. Foreman to Columbia University to give lectures. He began teaching in America at the age of 36. The emir decided to try to fit into the Hollywood system, while not losing identity. In the USA, he shot his new picture.
"Arizona Dream"
The script, which was written by David Atkins, a student of Kusturica, after minor refinement formed the basis of "Arizona Dream", an English-language film by Emir. He was released in 1993. American movie stars such as Faye Dunaway and Johnny Depp have starred in this film. The director took a lot of time to create the picture. Repeatedly postponed the date of the premiere. The resulting film failed at the box office and did not arouse admiration of the critics. However, at the Berlin Film Festival, he received the Silver Bear Award. "Arizona Dream" was Kusturica's first and probably last film shot in America. The director says now that he does not want to work in Hollywood anymore.
Kusturica returns to Yugoslavia
The Bosnian war began in 1992. The house of the Kusturica family, located in Sarajevo, was destroyed. Murat died of a heart attack shortly after these events. The director’s family moved to Montenegro. Watching what was happening in his country, Emir returned to Yugoslavia to work on a new painting. This time it was a fantasy film-parable "Underground". This picture with elements of a black comedy was created according to the script of Dusan Kovachevich, the famous playwright from Yugoslavia.
Underground
In 1995, this film was released. Kusturica, in a new directorial work, connected the episodes of recent history (in particular, the first events of the war in the Balkans) with the past of her country. The reaction to this picture was mixed. Critics compared this work to War and Peace, and the Sarajevo administration began real repressions against the director’s family. The tone of some reviews of the film was so terrible that Emir announced that he was leaving the movie. The director decided that he was not understood. However, the Underground at the Cannes Film Festival brought him the 2nd Golden Palm Branch. Thus, the Serbian director was the fourth to win this prize twice. Prior to this, B. August, F. Coppola and A. Sheberg were awarded this honor.
"Black cat, white cat"
We continue to describe the films of Emir Kusturica. The list will be supplemented by the picture "Black Cat, White Cat". After 3 years, Emir returned to the gypsy theme. His new film, unlike the previous picture ("Time of the Gypsies"), was a comedy. He appeared in 1998 and grew out of a project on gypsy music made for German television. In 1998, this picture at the Venice Film Festival became a favorite, but did not receive the main prize, although Emir was awarded for the best directing of the Silver Lion. Kusturica after “Underground” ceased cooperation with G. Bregovic, so Nella Karailich wrote the music for the new picture.
The emergence of The No Smoking Orchestra
Shortly before starting work on "Black Cat ..." Karailich created his version of Zabranjeno Pušenje, a Sarajevo rock band, and became a songwriter and vocalist in it. The group was called The No Smoking Orchestra and by the time the Black Cat was created ... had already recorded the album "Ja nisam odavle". It was dedicated to the victims of the 1992–95 Yugoslav war .
A long break followed after this picture. During it, Emir Kusturica did not create films, but was mainly engaged in the group The No Smoking Orchestra.
Stribor Kusturica, his son, took his place behind the drum kit. In 2001, he made a film about her ("Stories on Super 8") by Emir Kusturica. The songs of this group are quite famous today.
Acting Kusturica
It cannot be said, however, that Kusturica did not have any contacts with the world of cinema during this period. He starred as an actor in the 2000 film Widow from the Island of San Pierre and the 2003 film The Good Thief. In addition, Kusturica became the producer of the picture of Dusan Milic, his compatriot. We are talking about the 2003 film "Strawberry in the supermarket."
"Life is a miracle"
Emir Kusturica, after a long break, in 2004, released the new film "Life as a Miracle." The director again addressed the issue of war in the Balkans. The film was shot in the genre of tragicomedy, beloved by Kusturica. Slavko Štimac played a major role. In addition, Mirjana Karanovich (who also played in the film “Dad on a business trip”) and Vesna Trivalich, as well as Kusturica’s son Stribor and 2 musicians from The No Smoking Orchestra - Dejan Sparavolo and Nelle Karailich appeared on the screen. This film was shown at the 57th Cannes Film Festival, but received only the award of the French education system. Life as a Miracle, however, was awarded the Cesar Prize.
In 2005, Kusturica became himself at the head of the Cannes jury. Under his leadership, it awarded the Golden Child of the Dardenne Brothers film “The Child”. In the same year, Kusturica participated in the creation of "Invisible Children", a film almanac. He directed the episode "The Blue Gypsy", one of seven in this film.
"Covenant"
In May 2007, the premiere of the 8th full-length film of Emir Kusturica called "Testament" took place. The director participated with this work at the 60th Cannes Film Festival and for the first time in 5 years of participation did not take a single prize.
In 2007, on June 26, the premiere of "Time of the Gypsies" - a punk opera, which was created based on the eponymous painting by musicians from the group The No Smoking Orchestra. The documentary "Maradona" was released in 2008. It is dedicated to Diego Maradona, the famous football player from Argentina. At the 61st Cannes Film Festival , it premiered.
Life outside the cinema
Emir Kusturica, whose films have gained world fame today, has been filming a little lately. He mainly toured with The No Smoking Orchestra. He has a wife Maya and two children - a son, Stribor, and a daughter, Dunya. Stribor, in addition to participating in a rock band, starred in two of his father's films - Life as a Miracle and Testament.
Director Emir Kusturica in 2005 adopted Orthodoxy. According to Emir, he simply returned to its origins, since the ancestors of Kusturica were Orthodox Serbs. The director is interested in playing football (he loves to kick the ball) and musical projects, as well as architecture. For the project of the village of Drvengrad, he even received the 2005 Philippe Rotier Prize. It is built in a mountainous region of Serbia entirely of wood. This village is not a village. It is a tourist attraction. According to Kusturica, he wanted to create it in memory of his native village.
Many condemn the director for radical views and excessive political activity. However, this never bothered him. Kusturica simply cannot be aloof from the events taking place. A case is known when Emir challenged Vojislav Seselj, the leader of Serbian nationalists, to a duel. This happened in 1993. Kusturica offered him a duel in the very center of Belgrade. Sheshel, fortunately, refused.
"One hundred troubles"
More recently, in 2015, Emir Kusturica presented another surprise to admirers of his talent. One Hundred Troubles is a storybook that has become a real sensation in the European literary season. It seems that in his prose, Emir resurrects the magical atmosphere of such films as Life as a Miracle, Dad on a Business Trip, Black Cat, White Cat. The fabric of life is torn with traditions and foundations, family rituals. This happens under the pressure of political events, as Emir Kusturica notes. "One Hundred Troubles" is a storybook in which snakes that drink milk, then sheep exploding in a minefield, or flying lovers flash through the holes. In comic, absurd, burlesque, and sometimes tragic situations in which the heroes of the novels find themselves, the author’s thoughts about the fate of his homeland, about the collision of youth with the cruel world of adults, about the time when childhood leaves, are reflected. These stories revealed the explosive imagination of the author.
As you can see, Emir Kusturica is a versatile talented person. Books, directing, acting, music - all this is subject to his talent. Who knows what else Emir will please us in the future?