Directing

Vlatko Gilić

Born January 1, 1935 · Podgorica, Kingdom of Yugoslavia [now Montenegro] (age 91)

Vlatko Gilić (born 1 January 1935 in Podgorica, Montenegro, then Yugoslavia) is a Yugoslav director and writer whose work spans documentary and fiction and is closely associated with formally rigorous, philosophically inflected cinema of the late 1960s and 1970s. Between 1966 and 1980 he directed thirteen films—eleven shorts and two features—earning international recognition including a Silver Bea…

Known For

Homo sapiens

Homo sapiens · 1969

The first film in Vlatko Gilić’s Sisyphean trilogy, Homo sapiens follows a suited man as he takes a trek back and forth across a sandy desert to fill an oversized barrel using a woefully small tub of water. Shot in stark black and white and edited to achieve a dreamlike quality, the man’s devotion to this task is tested and taunted by a young couple that frolics around the barrel.

Montenegrin Athos

Montenegrin Athos · 1986

Montenegrin Athos

MovieDocumentary

Vlatko Gilić, after not getting enough funds for his last film, Days of Dreams, and after getting his scripts he wrote in the 1980s rejected for being too "artsy", was unable to direct movies for the rest of his life. In the meantime, he had the chance to direct this short documentary movie about the natural beauties of Montenegro, for a ski hotel, after meeting its hotel manager.

Pull!

MovieDocumentary

The third film in Vlatko Gilić’s Sisyphean trilogy. Where the machine could not go through ... Collision between stone and man on the section of the Belgrade-Bar railway.

In continuo

In continuo · 1971

MovieDocumentary

"In continuo" uses slaughterhouse imagery to present the warlike nature of man, first depicting the cleaning and mechanical preparations for the slaughterhouse and then the killing, however, the animal slaughter itself isn’t shown.

Homo homini

Homo homini · 1970

The second film in Vlatko Gilic’s Sisyphean trilogy.

Wolf of Prokletije

Wolf of Prokletije · 1968

Wolf of Prokletije

Uka is an old Albanian who lives in the mountains on the border of Kosovo and Albania. As an honorable man, he must deal with his son who befriended Italian fascists during WW2.

Back to His Native Woods

Back to His Native Woods · 1968

Back to His Native Woods

"Povratak na rodno drvo" is a Yugoslav short film from 1968. It was directed by Vlatko Gilić and the screenplay was written by Matija Bećković.

Power

MovieDocumentaryDrama

Screened in the official competition at the Cannes Festival, this controversial documentary depicts a hypnosis session in which participants, under its influence, inflict pain on themselves and others. The film addresses important themes such as manipulation, abuse of power, and collective obedience.

Filmography

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Homo sapiens

Homo sapiens · 1969

The first film in Vlatko Gilić’s Sisyphean trilogy, Homo sapiens follows a suited man as he takes a trek back and forth across a sandy desert to fill an oversized barrel using a woefully small tub of water. Shot in stark black and white and edited to achieve a dreamlike quality, the man’s devotion to this task is tested and taunted by a young couple that frolics around the barrel.

Director

Montenegrin Athos

Montenegrin Athos · 1986

Montenegrin Athos

MovieDocumentary

Vlatko Gilić, after not getting enough funds for his last film, Days of Dreams, and after getting his scripts he wrote in the 1980s rejected for being too "artsy", was unable to direct movies for the rest of his life. In the meantime, he had the chance to direct this short documentary movie about the natural beauties of Montenegro, for a ski hotel, after meeting its hotel manager.

Director

Pull!

MovieDocumentary

The third film in Vlatko Gilić’s Sisyphean trilogy. Where the machine could not go through ... Collision between stone and man on the section of the Belgrade-Bar railway.

Writer

In continuo

In continuo · 1971

MovieDocumentary

"In continuo" uses slaughterhouse imagery to present the warlike nature of man, first depicting the cleaning and mechanical preparations for the slaughterhouse and then the killing, however, the animal slaughter itself isn’t shown.

Director

Homo homini

Homo homini · 1970

The second film in Vlatko Gilic’s Sisyphean trilogy.

Writer

Wolf of Prokletije

Wolf of Prokletije · 1968

Wolf of Prokletije

Uka is an old Albanian who lives in the mountains on the border of Kosovo and Albania. As an honorable man, he must deal with his son who befriended Italian fascists during WW2.

Production Design

Back to His Native Woods

Back to His Native Woods · 1968

Back to His Native Woods

"Povratak na rodno drvo" is a Yugoslav short film from 1968. It was directed by Vlatko Gilić and the screenplay was written by Matija Bećković.

Director

Power

MovieDocumentaryDrama

Screened in the official competition at the Cannes Festival, this controversial documentary depicts a hypnosis session in which participants, under its influence, inflict pain on themselves and others. The film addresses important themes such as manipulation, abuse of power, and collective obedience.

Director

Horoscope

Horoscope · 1969

A gang of young delinquents from a coastal town terrorize the locals, the tourists that spend the summer holidays there, as well as the young girls. They are especially focused on a pretty girl that sells newspapers, and they make a bet which one will seduce her.

Assistant Director

The Bombers

The Bombers · 1973

Two best friends, former Partisans, must face new challenges after the war.

Writer

Little Light

Little Light · 1966

A boy wanders the city alone on a hot summer's day. He tries to escape it, but ends up finding a new friend. The film turns into a literal flight of fantasy.

Writer

A Day More

A Day More · 1972

MovieDocumentary

"Dan više" is about a mudbath near the small Serbian town of Bujanovac that is famous for healing illnesses. People cover themselves from head to toe in mud and then float on the water: Vlatko Gilić created a ghostly, surreal scenario, whose everyday quality is concentrated into an allegory of human suffering and quest.

Writer

Love

On many working sites where workers spend years away from their families, every visit is an event. A husband climbs down from a potentially fatal construction site to meet his wife for lunch.

Director

Season of Peace in Paris

Season of Peace in Paris · 1981

Season of Peace in Paris

MovieDramaHistory

A Yugoslavian man meets a woman in Paris, where he has come to do some research, and their mutual attraction leads to a liaison and shared adventures, not many good.

Writer

Backbone

Backbone · 1975

MovieHorrorDrama

An unbearable stench makes quite wide confusion among the residents of Belgrade. The microbiologist Pavle can not remember immediately where he smelled it, but recalls the event he witnessed as a child and the smell of a burning human. A visit to the crematorium gives him the assurance: The high number of suicides in the city has meant that the ovens are in continuous operation and will probably stay that way - because the stench is slowly making other people commit suicide, too.

Director

Days of Dreams

Days of Dreams · 1980

MovieRomanceDrama

Jelena spends her summer holiday tending a flock of sheep. A plane from a nearby aerodrome attracts her attention and she and the pilot engage in spontaneous games.

Director

Volunteers

Volunteers · 1986

In this amusing antiwar comedy, seven inept and reluctant soldiers land on a desert island to carry on with the fighting. Just after their parachutes have collapsed behind them on the beach, helicopters approach and land nearby. Out pops a bevy of beautiful women sent to entertain the troops, which they do, and then they leave. From that point onward, there are a series of misadventures

Writer

Certified: No Mines

Certified: No Mines · 1965

Certified: No Mines

October 20, 1944, Belgrade was liberated by Red Army and Tito's partisans. But the capital of Yugoslavia is still fraught with danger - retreating aggressor mined the city . A special partisan squad goes into underground maze of tunnels to find and disarm explosives which are still guarded by SS special forces.

Production Design

Judas

In the rocky wastes of Mount Velebit, men have lived for centuries in close proximity with snakes. They learned to anticipate and cope with the dangers of the evil region, but the true battle begins when man comes to grips with the evil in himself.

Director

The Death of Djurica the Peasant

The Death of Djurica the Peasant · 1971

The Death of Djurica the Peasant

A farmer's spiteful death against fascists who chase him down through his cornfield.

Writer

The Feverish Years

The Feverish Years · 1966

The Feverish Years

MovieDramaRomance

A story of two people who fell in love and couldn't find their way in the big city: a man who came from the countryside to work in a steel factory and a woman who works in the factory restaurant.

Production Design