Goran Paskaljević (; ; 22 April 1947 – 25 September 2020) was a Serbian and former Yugoslav film director.
Biography Born in Belgrade, he was raised by his grandparents in Niš in southern Serbia, following the divorce of his parents. Fourteen years later he returned to Belgrade where he worked with his stepfather at the Yugoslav Film Archive.
Paskaljević belonged to a group of several Yugoslav filmmakers who studied abroad and graduated from the prestigious Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU). After returning to Yugoslavia, he made some 30 documentaries and 16 feature films which were screened at many international film festivals (such as Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Toronto and San Sebastian) and met with critical acclaim. The rise of nationalism during the breakup of Yugoslavia forced him to leave his country in 1992.
In 1998 he returned to Yugoslavia to make Cabaret Balkan, which won the FIPRESCI prize at the Venice Film Festival and at the European Film Awards. In 2001, Variety International Film Guide marked him as one of the world's top five directors of the year. The Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA) presented a full retrospective of his work in January 2008. It was BFI Southbank's (London) turn to organize in July 2010 a full retrospective of his 16 feature films, along with the publication of a monograph (in English) about his work.
Paskaljević lived between Belgrade and Paris, France and he held both Serbian and French citizenship. As of 2008 he was named Officer of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
He died on 25 September 2020 in Paris. His unproduced screenplay Cat's Cry (Mačji krik), cowritten with Đorđe Sibinović, went into production in 2023 with Sanja Živković as director, and both of Paskaljević's sons, Vladimir and Petar, as producers.Marko Stojiljković, "Sanja Živković shoots her sophomore feature, Cat's Cry". Cineuropa, October 9, 2023.
Filmography Year Film Director Writer Producer Awards / Notes1976Beach Guard in WinterGolden Arena at Pula Film Festival1977The Dog Who Loved TrainsBronze Arena at Pula Film Festival, Golden Berlin Bear nominee1979The Days on Earth Are FlowingBronze Arena at Pula Film Festival1980Special TreatmentGolden Arena at Pula Film Festival, Palme d'Or nominee1982Twilight Time1984The Elusive Summer of '681987Guardian Angel1989Time of Miracles1992Tango ArgentinoAudience awards at Venice Film Festival and San Francisco International Film Festival1995Someone Else's AmericaGolden spike at Seminci1998Cabaret BalkanGolden Anchor Award at Haifa International Film Festival2001How Harry Became a TreeBest screenplay winner at Ghent International Film Festival2004Midwinter Night's DreamSpecial Prize of the Jury at San Sebastián International Film Festival2006The Optimists2009HoneymoonsGrand Prize of the Jury at Les Arcs European Film Festival2012When Day BreaksAudience Choice Prize at Les Arcs European Film Festival2016Land of the Gods Written in collaboration with Indian actor: Victor Banerjee2019Nonostante la nebbia2024Cat's Cry (Mačji krik)
See also The Prague film school
References
External links
New York Times Profile, Jan. 9, 2008