Aleksandar Petrović

Who was Aleksandar Petrović?

Aleksandar "Saša" Petrović was an acclaimed Yugoslav film director who was one of the leading European directors in the 1960s and one of the major figures of the Yugoslav Black Wave. Two of his films were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film : Three in 1966 and I Even Met Happy Gypsies in 1967. “I Even Met Happy Gypsies” is the first movie that presents the existence of Gypsies in society and in everyday life. It is also the first full-feature film where Gypsies speak their own language, Roma. Most roles are interpreted by real Gypsies; this is their movie. “As a child, I observed them and saw in these people faith and irrationality,” said Petrović “I Even Met Happy Gypsies” won the FIPRESCI Prize and the Grand Prize of the Jury at the Cannes Film Festival. It also received a nomination for a Golden Globe. In 1967 Petrović was a member of the jury at the 17th Berlin International Film Festival.

One of his most famous films is It Rains in My Village. Petrović found inspiration for this film in Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel The Possessed. The film was nominated for a Palme d'Or at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival