Abdulah Sidran (born 2 October 1944), often referred to by his

hypocoristic A hypocorism ( or ; from Ancient Greek: (), from (), 'to call by pet names', sometimes also ''hypocoristic'') or pet name is a name used to show affection for a person. It may be a diminutive form of a person's name, such as '' Izzy'' for ...

nickname ''Avdo'', is a Bosnian poet and screenwriter. He is best known for writing the poetry book Sarajevski Tabut and the scripts for ''

When Father Was Away on Business ''When Father Was Away on Business'' ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Otac na službenom putu, Отац на службеном путу) is a 1985 Yugoslav film by Serbian director Emir Kusturica. The screenplay was written by the Bosnian dramatist Abdulah Sid ...

'' and '' Do You Remember Dolly Bell?''.

Early life and family

Abdulah Sidran, the second of four children, was born in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

on 2 October 1944, although several sources inaccurately give his date of birth as 29 September 1944. He was born to

Bosnian Muslim The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry, cu ...

parents; father Mehmed Sidran (1915–1965) was born in Kiseljak and worked as a locksmith at a railway workshop, while his mother Behija (née Jukić) was a housewife. Sidran has three siblings Ekrem (born 1942; deceased), Nedim (born 4 February 1947) and Edina (born 1953). He was named after his paternal uncle, a

typographer Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable and appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line-spacing ( leading), an ...

and compositor, who perished in 1943 at the

Jasenovac concentration camp Jasenovac () was a concentration and extermination camp established in the village of the same name by the authorities of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) in occupied Yugoslavia during World War II. The concentration camp, one of the ...

. The Sidran family roots trace back to the hamlet

Biograd Biograd na Moru (), shortened to simply Biograd (), is a town in northern Dalmatia, Croatia and is significant for being another capital of the medieval Kingdom of Croatia. Biograd is administratively part of the Zadar County. It is located on th ...

near

Nevesinje Nevesinje ( sr-cyrl, Невесиње) is a town and municipality located in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the town has a population of 5,162 inhabitants, while the municipality has 12,961 inhabitants. Geograp ...

, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Abdulah's paternal grandfather Hasan Sidran relocated to Sarajevo from Belgrade in 1903.

Personal life

After spending most of his life in Sarajevo, Sidran lived in Goražde before moving to a small village near

Tešanj Tešanj ( sr-cyrl, Тешањ) is a town and municipality located in the Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 43,063 inhabitants, while the town ...

where he currently lives. In 2019, Sidran, together with some thirty world intellectuals met with French President Emmanuel Macron. A meeting of world intellectuals with the president of France was initiated by the prominent French philosopher, writer and journalist Bernard-Henri Levy.

Works

His major works include ''Šahbaza'', ''Bone and Meat'', ''The Sarajevo Tomb'' (''Sarajevski tabut''), ''Why is Venice Sinking'' (''Zašto tone Venecija''), several books of poetry, and screenplays for movies from the former

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, such as ''

'' and '' Do You Remember Dolly Bell?'', directed by

Emir Kusturica Emir Kusturica ( sr-cyrl, Емир Кустурица; born 24 November 1954) is a Serbian film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and musician. He also has French citizenship.http://www.serbia.com/emir-kusturica-artist-builder-and-anti-glo ...

, and ''

Kuduz ''Kuduz'' is a 1989 film, set in SR Bosnia and Herzegovina written by Abdulah Sidran and Ademir Kenović, who also directed the film. It is based on the true story of the outlaw Junuz Kečo. Plot A petty criminal is released from prison and ma ...

'', directed by

Ademir Kenović Ademir Kenović (born September 14, 1950) is a Bosnian film director and producer. He graduated from the University of Sarajevo in 1975. In 1972–73 he studied film, English literature and art at the Denison University in Ohio. His films inclu ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sidran, Abdulah 1944 births Living people Writers from Sarajevo Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Muslims 20th-century male writers Yugoslav screenwriters Bosnia and Herzegovina screenwriters Male screenwriters Yugoslav poets Bosnia and Herzegovina poets Bosniak poets Golden Arena winners Bosnia and Herzegovina male writers