Emir Kusturica

Directing

Emir Kusturica

Born November 24, 1954 · Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (age 71)

Emir Nemanja Kusturica is a Serbian filmmaker, actor and musician, recognized for several internationally acclaimed feature films. He is a two-time winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes (for When Father Was Away on Business and Underground), as well as being a Commander of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Since the mid-2000s, Kusturica's primary residence is Drvengrad, a village in the Mok…

Known For

Black Cat, White CatBlack Cat, White Cat · 1998
Black Cat, White Cat
7.61998
MovieComedyRomance
A small-time hustler makes a deal with a notorious gangster to whom he owes money: marry his teenage son to the latter's daughter. However, the young lovers are not as agreeable.
Balkan LineBalkan Line · 2019
Balkan Line
7.42019
MovieDramaAction
After the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, the Yugoslav army pulls out of Kosovo region, leaving Serbian people at the mercy of the Albanian UCK. A small band of soldiers must take over the Slatina airport, and hold it until the Russian peacekeepers arrive.
Arizona DreamArizona Dream · 1993
Arizona Dream
7.11993
MovieFantasyComedy
Rebellious young Axel Blackmar gets caught up into the family car business when his cousin, Paul, coaxes him to come to Arizona to attend the wedding of their Uncle Leo. As Axel makes the decision to try selling Cadillacs with his family, he meets an eccentric woman named Elaine and her equally quirky stepdaughter, Grace. Their lives become inextricably intertwined through romance, dreams – and death.
UndergroundUnderground · 1995
Underground
7.71995
MovieComedyDrama
Black marketeers Marko and Blacky manufacture and sell weapons to the Communist resistance in WWII Belgrade, living the good life along the way. Marko's surreal duplicity propels him up the ranks of the Communist Party, and he eventually abandons Blacky and steals his girlfriend. After a lengthy stay in a below-ground shelter, the couple reemerges during the Yugoslav Civil War of the 1990s as Marko sees the opportunity to exploit the situation.
The Good ThiefThe Good Thief · 2003
The Good Thief
6.12003
MovieCrimeDrama
An aging gambler on a losing streak attempts to rob a casino in Monte Carlo. But someone's already tipped off the cops before he even makes a move.
Time of the GypsiesTime of the Gypsies · 1988
Time of the Gypsies
7.61988
MovieDramaCrime
Perhan is a gypsy teenager with telekinetic powers. A wealthy gypsy, Ahmed, visits the village and promises to get Perhan's sister the medical treatment she needs if they join him to Italy. Perhan soon discovers that Ahmed's business activities are in fact quite shady and he is soon lured into the elder's corrupt surroundings.
When Father Was Away on BusinessWhen Father Was Away on Business · 1985
When Father Was Away on Business
7.31985
MovieDrama
In a post-WWII Yugoslavia still under Stalinist rule in the 1950s, six-year-old Malik is oblivious as to why his father, Mehmed, has suddenly disappeared. In truth, Mehmed has been sent to a labor camp as punishment for acts of sexual indiscretion involving young girls. Malik's mother, Senija, however, has no answers, and the family must cope in the father's absence.
7 Days in Havana7 Days in Havana · 2012
7 Days in Havana
5.62012
MovieDrama
A lesbian, an aspiring actor, an aspiring singer, a low-class marriage, a neighborhood community and 2 renowned directors have memorable less-than-24-hour-long experiences while living in/visiting the capital of Cuba.

Filmography

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Words with GodsWords with Gods · 2014
Words with Gods
5.72014
MovieDramaComedy
The first of four installments in the groundbreaking Heartbeat of the World anthology film series. Comprised of several short films by some of the world's most exciting directors, Words with Gods follows the theme of religion - specifically as it relates to an individual's relationship with his/her god or gods...or the lack thereof. In Words with Gods, each director recounts a narrative centered around human fragility, as well as environmental and cultural crises involving specific religions with which each has a personal relationship; including early Aboriginal Spirituality, Umbanda, Buddhism, the Abrahamic faiths, Hinduism, and Atheism. An animated sequence by Mexican animator Maribel Martinez is woven through each of the film segments, with each segment narratively connected as a feature-length film.

Writer

Promise Me ThisPromise Me This · 2007
Promise Me This
6.62007
MovieRomanceComedy
An old man named Zivojin Markovic, living in a remote village prays for his grandson Cane to go to the city, sell his cow and bring back a wife. In the city he is supposed to meet up with his grandfather's stepbrother, but this man is dead. Instead, he meets this man's two grandsons, two good-natured brothers who are nevertheless small-time criminals and experts in demolition. Cane soon clicks with these men, and also falls in love with a schoolgirl (Jasna), who he wants to marry as part of his testament with his grandfather. He gets involved in this girl's family affairs, rescuing both her and her mother from prostitution and gangsters headed by a man called Bajo, and the new group of people return to the small village in time to celebrate Zivojin's wedding to his neighbor, despite the gangsters' best efforts to stop the celebration, which results in a double wedding.

Director