Lordan Zafranović
(*1944), Croatia
Creative activities
The prominent Croatian director Lordan Zafranović is a top representative of the so-called black wave of Yugoslav cinema. After studying literature and visual arts at the University of Split, he moved as an award-winning amateur filmmaker to Prague’s FAMU, where he graduated in 1971 in directing from Oscar-winning director Elmar Klos. His first works from the early 1960s were mainly short experiments with absurd situations, for which he won the Master of Amateur Film award. He came to prominence in 1975 with the award-winning film Passion according to Matthew – Utrpení Matouše. His best-known work is his war trilogy, reflecting everyday life in Yugoslavia during World War II. Its first part, The Occupation in 26 Pictures – Okupace V 26 Obrazech from 1978, was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and won awards at festivals around the world. This was followed by the second and third parts of The Fall of Italy – Pád Itálie and Evening Bells – Večerní zvony. He made a number of productions for Croatian television. In the 1990s he returned to Prague, where he directed the film My Vengeance is Revenge – Má je pomsta.
