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1960s – 1970s

Yugoslav Black Wave

Bold, ironic and sometimes banned films from Yugoslavia in the 1960s and 1970s, in which Makavejev, Petrović, Pavlović, Žilnik and others mixed documentary, satire and sexual politics to question the promises of socialism.

In the 1960s and early 1970s a group of Yugoslav directors turned against the official picture of a happy socialist country. Dušan Makavejev, Aleksandar Petrović, Živojin Pavlović, Želimir Žilnik and others made films about unemployment, loneliness, sex and the gap between slogans and daily life, using documentary footage, black humour and free editing. The authorities called their work "black" and, from the early 1970s, banned many of the films and pushed several directors out of work or abroad. Petrović's I Even Met Happy Gypsies was nominated for an Academy Award, and Žilnik's Early Works won the Golden Bear at Berlin.

Where
Yugoslavia: Belgrade, Zagreb and Ljubljana
When
About 1963 to the mid-1970s
Key figures
Dušan Makavejev, Aleksandar Petrović, Živojin Pavlović, Želimir Žilnik, Puriša Đorđević, Vatroslav Mimica, Krsto Papić
Landmark films
Three (1965), Man Is Not a Bird (1965), I Even Met Happy Gypsies (1967), Early Works (1969), W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism (1971)
Legacy
A bold, ironic cinema that showed how far an official culture could be questioned from inside, and a model for later Balkan film

What to look for

  • Documentary scenes mixed into fiction, and fiction that behaves like documentary
  • Black humour and irony aimed at slogans, leaders and everyday hypocrisy
  • Free, jumpy editing and openly political images, often with sex as a way to talk about power

If you are new to Yugoslav Black Wave, take a look at our guide to start.

Man Is Not a BirdYugoslav Black Wave · 10 filmsYugoslav Black Wave in 10 filmsIn the 1960s and 1970s a group of Yugoslav directors made films that were funny, angry and often banned, about a country that said it was a workers' paradise.START

Director guides

Do You Remember Dolly Bell?Serbia · 8 filmsEmir Kusturica: Essential FilmsEmir Kusturica is one of the best-known filmmakers of Serbia.START
We Are Not AngelsSerbia · 8 filmsSrdjan Dragojević: Essential FilmsSrdjan Dragojević is one of the best-known filmmakers of Serbia.START
Man Is Not a BirdSerbia · 7 filmsDušan Makavejev: Essential FilmsDušan Makavejev is one of the best-known filmmakers of Serbia.START

Famous Directors

Dušan MakavejevYugoslavia (Serbia)Aleksandar PetrovićYugoslavia (Serbia)Živojin PavlovićYugoslavia (Serbia)Želimir ŽilnikSerbia (Yugoslavia)Puriša ĐorđevićSerbiaBBoštjan HladnikSerbiaVatroslav MimicaCroatiaKrsto PapićCroatiaZZvonimir BerkovićCroatiaAAnte BabajaSerbiaJovan AćinSerbiaPPredrag GolubovićSerbiaVlatko GilićSerbiaOObrad GluščevićSerbiaDragoslav LazićSerbiaIIvica MatićSerbia

Top films · 53 films

  1. People of the Neretva River 1967 · Obrad Gluščević · IMDb 8.5
  2. Lone Wolf 1972 · Obrad Gluščević · IMDb 8.0
  3. When I Am Dead and Gone 1967 · Živojin Pavlović · IMDb 7.9
  4. Rondo 1966 · Zvonimir Berković · IMDb 7.9
  5. In continuo 1971 · Vlatko Gilić · IMDb 7.9
  6. The Birch Tree 1967 · Ante Babaja · IMDb 7.8
  7. Three 1965 · Aleksandar Petrović · IMDb 7.7
  8. I Even Met Happy Gypsies 1967 · Aleksandar Petrović · IMDb 7.6
  9. The Ambush 1969 · Živojin Pavlović · IMDb 7.6
  10. Man of the World 1965 · Obrad Gluščević · IMDb 7.6
  11. The Rats Woke Up 1967 · Živojin Pavlović · IMDb 7.5
  12. Handcuffs 1969 · Krsto Papić · IMDb 7.5
  13. Power (1973) 1973 · Vlatko Gilić · IMDb 7.5
  14. An Event 1969 · Vatroslav Mimica · IMDb 7.4
  15. Typhoid Sufferers 1963 · Vatroslav Mimica · IMDb 7.4
  16. Love Affair, or the Case of the Missing Switchboard Operator 1967 · Dušan Makavejev · IMDb 7.3
  17. Dancing in the Rain 1961 · Boštjan Hladnik · IMDb 7.3
  18. Monday or Tuesday 1966 · Vatroslav Mimica · IMDb 7.3
  19. It Rains in My Village 1969 · Aleksandar Petrović · IMDb 7.2
  20. Captain Mikula the Kid 1974 · Obrad Gluščević · IMDb 7.2
  21. Man Is Not a Bird 1965 · Dušan Makavejev · IMDb 7.1
  22. Innocence Unprotected 1968 · Dušan Makavejev · IMDb 7.1
  23. The Morning 1967 · Puriša Đorđević · IMDb 7.1
  24. Anno Domini 1573 1975 · Vatroslav Mimica · IMDb 7.0
  25. Kaya 1967 · Vatroslav Mimica · IMDb 7.0
  26. Prometheus from the Island of Viševica 1964 · Vatroslav Mimica · IMDb 7.0
  27. The Feverish Years 1966 · Dragoslav Lazić · IMDb 7.0
  28. Red Wheat 1971 · Živojin Pavlović · IMDb 6.9
  29. Mad Summer 1964 · Obrad Gluščević · IMDb 6.9
  30. Early Works 1969 · Želimir Žilnik · IMDb 6.8
  31. Little Light 1966 · Predrag Golubović · IMDb 6.8
  32. Homo sapiens 1969 · Vlatko Gilić · IMDb 6.7
  33. The Rat Savior 1976 · Krsto Papić · IMDb 6.6
  34. The Naked Man 1968 · Obrad Gluščević · IMDb 6.5
  35. Do You Know Pavle Pleso? 1975 · Jovan Aćin · IMDb 6.5
  36. The Bombers 1973 · Predrag Golubović · IMDb 6.4
  37. Smoke and Water 1963 · Dragoslav Lazić · IMDb 6.4
  38. The Wind (1974) 1974 · Dragoslav Lazić · IMDb 6.3
  39. The Master and Margaret 1972 · Aleksandar Petrović · IMDb 6.2
  40. Red Blow 1974 · Predrag Golubović · IMDb 6.1
  41. The Flight of Dead Bird 1973 · Živojin Pavlović · IMDb 6.1
  42. Backbone 1975 · Vlatko Gilić · IMDb 5.9
  43. Yellow Ribbons 1973 · Jovan Aćin · IMDb 5.9
  44. Sweet Movie 1974 · Dušan Makavejev · IMDb 5.8
  45. Group Portrait with a Lady 1977 · Aleksandar Petrović · IMDb 5.7
  46. Bathing 1972 · Jovan Aćin
  47. Classified Ads - In Memoriam 1971 · Ivica Matić
  48. Interview with a Mistress 1969 · Ivica Matić
  49. Process 1970 · Ivica Matić
  50. Purgatory (1974) 1974 · Ivica Matić
  51. Salting Tubs 1973 · Jovan Aćin
  52. Theme 1 1971 · Ivica Matić
  53. W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism 1971 · Dušan Makavejev