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Emir Kusturica _________________
Bosnia/Serbia (1954- )
Since 1981 Yugoslavian filmmaker Emir Kusturica has made an impressive string of internationally acclaimed features and is among the most creative directors in cinema. Born in Sarajevo and educated at the distinguished Prague film school, FAMU, he started out directing Yugoslavian television shows. Kusturica made an auspicious feature-film debut in 1981 with Do You Remember Dolly Bell? winning the prestigious Golden Lion at that year's Venice Festival. His sophomore film When Father Was Away on Business (1985) earned a Golden Palm at Cannes, five Yugoslavian Oscar equivalents and was nominated in the U.S. for an Academy Award for "Best Foreign Film."
In 1989, he earned even more accolades for Time of the Gypsies a penetrating but magical look into gypsy culture and the exploitation of their youths. Kuristica has since continued to make highly regarded films, including his American debut, the absurdist comedy Arizona Dream (1993) and the Golden Palm-winning black comedy Underground (1995). In 1998, he won the Venice Film Festival's Silver Lion for Best Direction for Black Cat, White Cat, an outrageous, farcical comedy set in a Gypsy settlement on the banks of the Danube.
Known as much for his political activism as his filmmaking in his native country, Kusturica has on many occasions spoken out against the Serbian right/ultranationalist movement. On one of these occasions, he challenged Vojislav Seselj, leader of Serbia's ultranationalist movement, to a duel in the heart of Belgrade that would take place at high noon. Seselj declined, saying that he "didn't want to be accused of [the] murder of an artist." (Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide)
He has also acted in several recent movies, including The Good Thief (2003) and The Widow of St. Pierre (2001).
MAJOR WORKS:
MUSIC VIDEOS AND MP3 FILES
ON THE WEB: Emir Kusturica. Strictly Film School. 2001. www.filmref.com. Overview of his work. Brophy, Stephen. "Underground." Watching Film. www.stephenbrophy.org. 16 October 1997. Brief but useful review. Iordanova, Dina. "Balkan Wedding Revisited: Multiple Messages of Filmed Nuptials." Center for Austrian Studies. October 1998.
Thorough discussion of weddings as a metaphor in Balkan culture and films, with several pages devoted to Underground. (Scroll down to 98.1 and click title to access a .pdf file version of the paper.) Horton, Andrew. "Critical Mush:
Emir Kusturica given an easy ride by a new documentary." Central Europe Review.2.14
(10 April 2000).
Iordanova, Dina. Emir Kusturica. London: British Film Institute, 2002
Gocic, Goran. The Cinema of Emir Kusturica: Notes From the Underground London: Wallflower Press, 2001.
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Emir Kusturica is quite a musician, and tours the world with a group called "Emir Kusturica and The No Smoking Orchestra." The music reflects the machismo gusto of Kusturica's films, and is a wonderful mix of Balkan folk music, hard rock and Gypsy harmonics. It's probably unlike any music you have heard before. The orchestra has a Web site, with video and music downloads: