Želimir Žilnik

Directing

Želimir Žilnik

Born September 8, 1942 · Nis, Serbia, Yugoslavia (age 83)

Želimir Žilnik is a Serbian film director and one of the major figures of the Yugoslav Black Wave. He is noted for his socially engaging style and criticism of censorship that was commonplace during the Yugoslav communist era. Subsequently, following the abolition of communist one-party system, he was an outspoken critic of Slobodan Milošević-led regime in Serbia.

Known For

Fortress EuropeFortress Europe · 2000
Fortress Europe
10.02000
MovieDramaDocumentary
People of different nationalities from Central Europe attempting to reach the West by crossing the controls and “European” rules.
Taiwan CanastaTaiwan Canasta · 1985
Taiwan Canasta
5.91985
MovieDramaComedy
A frustrated and unemployed architect experiences flashbacks of his youth and 1968 protests while the life passes by. Unable to adapt and to accept the reality, he’s constantly getting into conflicts with the people around him.
Early WorksEarly Works · 1971
Early Works
5.91971
MovieDrama
Inspired by Karl Marx's "Das Kapital", three men and a girl named Jugoslava decide to wake up the conscience within the working class and peasants. Faced with the primitivism and a lack of morale, their revolution fails and the girl is the one to be sacrificed as a witness of their unsuccessful attempt.
Paradise. An Imperialist TragicomedyParadise. An Imperialist Tragicomedy · 1976
Paradise. An Imperialist Tragicomedy
5.51976
MovieDocumentary
A multinational company owned by Mrs Judit Angst is facing financial difficulties: she decides to hire a group of young anarchists to fake her "kidnapping". After a couple of weeks spent in confinement she will be able to justify the downfall of her company before the people and at the same time to gain the status of the opponent to the destruction and chaos.
Throwing Off the Yolks of BondageThrowing Off the Yolks of Bondage · 1996
Throwing Off the Yolks of Bondage
1996
MovieDocumentary
Milošević’s regime has rigged the results of parliamentarian elections in autumn 1996. This was a cause for mass rallies in Belgrade and other cities in Serbia. The film documents the protests during the first four days of their protests, their political and criticising charge but also the carnival spirit. On the seventh day of the protests the film was edited and had a premiere screening in the Rex Cinema.
OldtimerOldtimer · 1989
Oldtimer
7.01989
MovieTV MovieComedy
The aged rocker Igor works as a journalist and DJ at the "Radio Student" in Ljubljana. He notices that the janitor Miha works for the police, tapping the walls and observing the journalists who are critical of the regime. After a clash with his editor, Igor decides to leave for Greece by his old bike DKW from 1938, via Bosnia and Serbia. Young Rahela joins him on the trip. Traveling through Yugoslavia, Igor becomes involved in unexpected turmoil: Milosevic's "antibureaucratic revolution" starts in Serbia and Vojvodina.
Kenedi Goes Back HomeKenedi Goes Back Home · 2003
Kenedi Goes Back Home
6.62003
MovieDocumentary
The first film in what would ultimately become Zilnik’s famed Kenedi trilogy follows street hustler Kenedi Hasani and his friend as they roam the streets of Serbia seeking Kenedi’s parents. Kenedi Goes Back Home is Zilnik’s account of the Roma people who were forced to flee from the war in the Balkans to Germany in the 1990s and who, ten years later, are forced against their will to return to Serbia. Zilnik shows the immigrants' lives in relation to the prevailing ideology shaped today by the borders between rich and poor and by the often-racist selection process that determines who will be accepted into Western Europe. In presenting the dilemmas and identifying the crises these people face, he appeals for a solution.
Where Gods Are DeadWhere Gods Are Dead · 1993
Where Gods Are Dead
5.51993
MovieDocumentaryDrama
A Norwegian TV-worker tries to prevent her son, which she has with her former husband, a Serb now living in Jugoslavia, to become a soldier in the starting civil war.

Filmography

Sort
Kenedi Goes Back HomeKenedi Goes Back Home · 2003
Kenedi Goes Back Home
6.62003
MovieDocumentary
The first film in what would ultimately become Zilnik’s famed Kenedi trilogy follows street hustler Kenedi Hasani and his friend as they roam the streets of Serbia seeking Kenedi’s parents. Kenedi Goes Back Home is Zilnik’s account of the Roma people who were forced to flee from the war in the Balkans to Germany in the 1990s and who, ten years later, are forced against their will to return to Serbia. Zilnik shows the immigrants' lives in relation to the prevailing ideology shaped today by the borders between rich and poor and by the often-racist selection process that determines who will be accepted into Western Europe. In presenting the dilemmas and identifying the crises these people face, he appeals for a solution.

Director