FILM DIRECTORS from Serbia

Top 6

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Serbian Film Directors of all time. This list of famous Serbian Film Directors is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Gojko Mitić (b. 1940)

With an HPI of 60.12, Gojko Mitić is the most famous Serbian Film Director.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages on wikipedia.

Gojko Mitić (Serbian Cyrillic: Гојко Митић; born June 13, 1940) is a Serbian-German actor and director. He gained great popularity in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) as the leading actor in historical and fictional Indian (that is, Native American) personalities in numerous DEFA Indian films. His popularity may be recognizable from the fact that both in the GDR and later in the Federal Republic of Germany attempts were made to attach labels to him: "DEFA bosses" on the one hand, "Winnetou of the East" on the other. However, Gojko Mitić never portrayed the latter role in a film (although he did later at the Karl May Festival in Bad Segeberg). This Winnetou formulation refers more to the popularity of Gojko Mitić compared to the actor of the role from the West, the Frenchman Pierre Brice. According to Gojko Mitić, he speaks all Slavic languages, German, a little Italian and English.

2. Dušan Makavejev (1932 - 2019)

With an HPI of 57.76, Dušan Makavejev is the 2nd most famous Serbian Film Director.  His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Dušan Makavejev (Serbian Cyrillic: Душан Макавејев, pronounced [dǔʃan makaʋějeʋ]; 13 October 1932 – 25 January 2019) was a Serbian film director and screenwriter. He is known for his groundbreaking films of Yugoslav cinema in the late 1960s and early 1970s—many of which belong to the Black Wave. Makavejev's most internationally successful film was the 1971 political satire W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism, which he both directed and wrote.

3. Goran Paskaljević (1947 - 2020)

With an HPI of 49.46, Goran Paskaljević is the 3rd most famous Serbian Film Director.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Goran Paskaljević (Serbian Cyrillic: Горан Паскаљевић; pronounced [ɡɔ̌ran paskǎːʎɛvit͡ɕ]; 22 April 1947 – 25 September 2020) was a Serbian and former Yugoslav film director.

4. Želimir Žilnik (b. 1942)

With an HPI of 49.41, Želimir Žilnik is the 4th most famous Serbian Film Director.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Želimir Žilnik (Serbian Cyrillic: Желимир Жилник; pronounced [ʒɛ̌limiːr ʒîlniːk]; born 8 September 1942) is a Serbian film director best known as one of the major figures of the Yugoslav Black Wave film movement of the 1960s and 1970s.

5. Josef von Báky (1902 - 1966)

With an HPI of 48.04, Josef von Báky is the 5th most famous Serbian Film Director.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Josef von Báky (23 March 1902, Zombor, Austria-Hungary – 28 July 1966, Munich, West Germany) was a Hungarian filmmaker. He was also known as Josef v. Baky and József Báky. He was born in the village of Zobor in the Kingdom of Hungary (today Zombor, Slovakia). He worked as an assistant to Géza von Bolváry. He worked as director or producer on no less than 48 films. He died in Munich, Bavaria, West Germany. Báky's best known film is Münchhausen, which was released in 1943. It is a fantasy-comedy and is noted for how it avoids politics of its time. The film was ordered by Nazi propaganda minister Goebbels to celebrate the 25th anniversary of UFA and to compete with Hollywood productions.

6. Srđan Dragojević (b. 1963)

With an HPI of 43.00, Srđan Dragojević is the 6th most famous Serbian Film Director.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Srđan Dragojević (Serbian Cyrillic: Срђан Драгојевић, pronounced [sř̩d͡ʑan drâɡojeʋitɕ], born 1 January 1963) is a Serbian film director and screenwriter, who emerged in the 1990s as a significant figure in Serbian cinema. From 2010 until 2017, he was affiliated with the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS). In late August 2013 he became an SPS MP in the Serbian National Assembly.