Dušan Kovacevic
Encyclopedia
Dušan Kovačević is a Serbia
n playwright
and director best known for his theater plays and movie scripts. He also served as the ambassador of Serbia
in Lisbon
, Portugal
.
Kovačević was born in Mrđenovac near Šabac
, PR Serbia, FPR Yugoslavia, graduated from a grammar school in Novi Sad
, and received a Bachelor's degree in dramaturgy from the University of Belgrade
in 1973. From 1973, he worked as a dramaturge at TV Beograd for five years. Since 1998, he has been the Artistic Director of Zvezdara teatar. In 2003 he directed his first movie, Profesionalac (The Professional).
His daughter Lena Kovačević is a famous jazz singer.
Kovačević's prolific work is well known and popular in Serbia. His comedies have been translated into 17 languages, but his work didn't become available in English until the mid-1990s. One of his plays, Balkan Spy was being rehearsed in Beijing
at the time of Tiananmen Square protests
, only to be cancelled by the authorities.
A declared royalist, Dušan Kovačević is a member of the Crown Council of Aleksandar Karađorđević. He is also a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
.
Some of Kovačević's work includes:
Plays
Films
Underground, directed by Emir Kusturica
, won the Palme d'Or
at Cannes Film Festival
. It was Kovačević's adaptation of an earlier play called Proleće u januaru (Spring in January). He has written film adaptations of Marathon Runners (The Marathon Runners Run a Victory Lap (1982)), The Gathering Place, Balkan Spy, and The Professional, as well.
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and director best known for his theater plays and movie scripts. He also served as the ambassador of Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
.
Kovačević was born in Mrđenovac near Šabac
Šabac
Šabac is a city and municipality in western Serbia, along the Sava river, in the historic region of Mačva. It is the administrative center of the Mačva District. The city has a population of 52,822 , while population of the municipality is 115,347...
, PR Serbia, FPR Yugoslavia, graduated from a grammar school in Novi Sad
Novi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....
, and received a Bachelor's degree in dramaturgy from the University of Belgrade
University of Belgrade
The University of Belgrade is the oldest and largest university of Serbia.Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-based departments into a single university...
in 1973. From 1973, he worked as a dramaturge at TV Beograd for five years. Since 1998, he has been the Artistic Director of Zvezdara teatar. In 2003 he directed his first movie, Profesionalac (The Professional).
His daughter Lena Kovačević is a famous jazz singer.
Kovačević's prolific work is well known and popular in Serbia. His comedies have been translated into 17 languages, but his work didn't become available in English until the mid-1990s. One of his plays, Balkan Spy was being rehearsed in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
at the time of Tiananmen Square protests
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...
, only to be cancelled by the authorities.
A declared royalist, Dušan Kovačević is a member of the Crown Council of Aleksandar Karađorđević. He is also a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts is the most prominent academic institution in Serbia today...
.
Some of Kovačević's work includes:
Plays
- Radovan Treći - Radovan III (1973)
- Maratonci trče počasni krug - The Marathon Runners Run a Victory Lap (1973)
- Sabirni centarSabirni centarSabirni centar is a 1989 Yugoslavian fantasy/comedy film directed by Goran Marković, starring Rade Marković, Bogdan Diklić, Dragan Nikolić, Mirjana Karanović and Anica Dobra. It is based on Dušan Kovačević's play of the same title translated in the U.S. as The Gathering Place...
- The Gathering Place (1982) - Balkanski špijun - Balkan Spy (1982)
- Sveti Georgije ubiva aždahu - St. George Shoots the DragonSt. George Shoots the DragonSt. George Slays the Dragon is a Serbian World War I drama directed by Srđan Dragojević and written by Dušan Kovačević. The movie premiered on March 11, 2009....
(1984) - Klaustofobična Komedija - Claustrophobic Comedy (1987)
- Profesionalac - The Professional (1990)
- Urnebesna Tragedija - Roaring Tragedy (also translated as Tragedy Burlesque; 1990)
- Lari Tompson, tragedija jedne mladosti - Larry Thompson, the Tragedy of a Youth (1996)
- Kontejner sa Pet Zvezdica - Five-Star Dumpster (1999)
- Doktor Šuster - Doctor Shoemaker (2001)
- Generalna proba samoubstiva - Dress Rehearsal for a Suicide (2009)
- U tesnim cipelama - In tight shoes (2011)
- Reinkarnacija - Reincarnation (2011)
Films
- Specijalno vaspitanje - Special Treatment (1978)
- Ko to tamo pevaKo to tamo pevaWho's That Singing Over There is a 1980 Yugoslavian film written by Dušan Kovačević and directed by Slobodan Šijan. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival.-Plot:...
- Who's Singing Over There? (1980) - Bila jednom jedna zemlja - Underground (Once Upon a Time was a Land) (1995)
- Profesionalac - The Professional (2003) by director and scriptwriter Dusan Kovacevic
- Sveti Georgije ubiva aždahu - St. George Kills the Dragon (2009)
Underground, directed by Emir Kusturica
Emir Kusturica
Emir Nemanja Kusturica , is a Serbian filmmaker, actor and musician, recognized for several internationally acclaimed feature films...
, won the Palme d'Or
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
at Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
. It was Kovačević's adaptation of an earlier play called Proleće u januaru (Spring in January). He has written film adaptations of Marathon Runners (The Marathon Runners Run a Victory Lap (1982)), The Gathering Place, Balkan Spy, and The Professional, as well.
External links
- Zvezdara Theater
- Intervju: Dušan Kovačević, Wine Style, March 12, 2009
- Srbiju trese pljačkaška groznica, Blic, May 3, 2009