Zelimir Zilnik

Zelimir Zilnik was born in 1942 in Nis. While he was studying at the Law School, Zilnik began being involved in the amateur film making. He became a professional film maker at the end of sixties, through his documentary films (News journal about the young people in country, in winter time, 1967; Little pioneers, we are true soldiers and we grow like a green grass with each day, 1967; Unemployed people, 1968) and a feature movie The Early Works (1969) for which Zilnik was awarded the Gold Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. His second feature movie Paradies (1976) Zilnik produced in Germany. Following his return from Germany, he turns to the TV production. Beside numerous TV dramas Zilnik also produced films: The Second Generation (1983), Beautiful Women Passes through the City (1986), That is How the Steel was Hardened (1988), Marble Ass and Where is this Boat Sailing to.

Film critic on Zelimir Zilnik

There is no author in Serbia who so consistently and in a such a long period of time remained committed to the idea of social and political film as did the playwright and the film director Zelimir Zilnik. In his works, Zilnik uses his specific method, based on the cooperation with the participants in the movies and their approval to be presented even in the documentaries as actors ready for various artistic exhibitions. Zilnik created a vivid play, exposing to mockery every attempt of the authorities to force people into stereotypes.

The amazing strength that Zilnik demonstrated in every phase of his work, his provocative attitude when dealing with forms of ideology, his consistency in interrogating the never solved boundary between the fiction and faction elements, his denial of the author’s narcissism related to the ways of promotion of his own works made Zelimir Zilnik a unique personality in the European film. Together with Dusan Makavejev, Zilnik is the only author from this country who through his works (in his case it was The Early Works, 1969) dictated the newest film trends in our continent.

Sasa Radojevic

Films by Zelimir Zilnik

1st day
1 The Early Works (78 min)
2 Little pioneers, we are ...(18 min)
3 News journal about young people in country, in winter time (15 min)
4 Unemployed people (13 min)
5 Women are coming
6 Beautiful women passes through the city (100 min)

2nd day
1 Seven Hungarian Ballads
2 Black Movie (14 min)
3 Uprising in Jasak (18 min)
4 Brooklin – Gusinje (85)
5 Tito for the Second Time among the Serbs
6 Cosmogirls (27 min)
7 Marble Ass (87 min)
8 Exit in the Morning