Danis Tanović (born 20 February 1969) is a Bosnian film director and screenwriter. He is best known for having directed and written the script for the 2001 Bosnian movie '' No Man's Land'' which won him many awards, including an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and a

Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film is a Golden Globe Award presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Until 1986, it was known as the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film, meaning that any non-American film coul ...

among many others. Tanović has also written and directed the award-winning Bosnian films ''

An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker ''Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker'' ( bs, Epizoda u životu berača željeza) is 2013 Bosnian drama film written and directed by Danis Tanović. The film premiered in competition at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival where it won ...

'' and ''

Death in Sarajevo ''Death in Sarajevo'' ( bs, Smrt u Sarajevu) is a 2016 Bosnian drama film directed by Danis Tanović. It was selected to compete for the Golden Bear at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. At Berlin it won the Jury Grand Prix, as well as ...

''. He is regarded as one of the best Bosnian directors and screenwriters of all time, and also one of the best from

Southeast Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (a ...

. Tanović is the only person born in the territory of present-day

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 ...

to have won an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

Life and career

Tanović was born in

Zenica Zenica ( ; ; ) is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and an administrative and economic center of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Zenica-Doboj Canton. It is located in the Bosna river valley, about north of Sarajevo. The city is k ...

SR Bosnia and Herzegovina The Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Bosna i Hercegovina, Социјалистичка Pепублика Босна и Херцеговина), commonly referred to as Socia ...

, SFR Yugoslavia on 20 February 1969. He was raised in the Bosnian capital of

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 ...

, where he also received his primary and secondary education. Tanović also attended the

University of Sarajevo The University of Sarajevo ( Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: ''Univerzitet u Sarajevu'' / Sveučilište u Sarajevu / Универзитет у Сарајеву) is a public university located in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the largest ...

Music Conservatory, where he played the piano. As a young adult, he decided to study at the

Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo The Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo () is a faculty within the University of Sarajevo in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, dedicated to the performing arts. History The Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo was officially opened in 1981 w ...

. However, due to the

Siege of Sarajevo The Siege of Sarajevo ( sh, Opsada Sarajeva) was a prolonged blockade of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the Bosnian War. After it was initially besieged by the forces of the Yugoslav People's Army, the city was then be ...

and the Bosnian War, Tanović was forced to stop his studies in 1992. Immediately after war broke out, Tanović formed a film crew that followed the

Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( bs, Armija Republike Bosne i Hercegovine or ARBiH), often referred to as Bosnian Army, was the military force of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was established by the government of ...

going on dangerous missions. The material that he and the film crew produced has since been used in numerous films and news reports about the Siege of Sarajevo and the Bosnian War. In late 1994, Tanović left the film crew he had worked with for over two years. A year later, he decided to resume his studies, this time in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, the capital of

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. In 1997, he completed his studies in Brussels, graduating at the top of his class. During his studies, Tanović made several documentary films. Shortly after, he began his first movie project, entitled '' No Man's Land''. He wrote and directed the movie, which was completed in 2001 and premiered at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

that same year. ''No Man's Land'' went on to win the Award for Best Screenplay (''Prix du scénario'') at Cannes, followed by numerous awards including the

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

for

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

in 2001, the

European Film Academy The European Film Academy is an initiative of a group of European filmmakers who came together in Berlin on the occasion of the first presentation of the European Film Awards in November 1988. The Academy—under the name of European Cinema Soc ...

Award for Best Screenplay, the César for the Best First Feature Film, the André Cavens Award for Best Film in 2001, and the

in 2002. Tanović was a member of the jury at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. His second feature project was '' L'Enfer'', completed in 2005, from the screenplay by the late

Krzysztof Kieślowski Krzysztof Kieślowski (; 27 June 1941 – 13 March 1996) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. He is known internationally for '' Dekalog'' (1989), ''The Double Life of Veronique'' (1991), and the ''Three Colours'' trilogy (1993 –1994 ...

and Krzysztof Piesiewicz. The film marked the second installment in the Polish duo's projected trilogy ''Heaven'' (filmed by

Tom Tykwer Tom Tykwer (; born 23 May 1965) is a German film director, producer, screenwriter, and composer. He is best known internationally for directing the thriller films '' Run Lola Run'' (1998), '' Heaven'' (2002), '' Perfume: The Story of a Murderer ...

in 2002), ''Hell and Purgatory''. Inspired by

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars a ...

' ''

Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; grc, Μήδεια, ''Mēdeia'', perhaps implying "planner / schemer") is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, a niece of Circe and the granddaughter of the sun god Helios. Medea figures in the myth of Jason an ...

'', ''L'Enfer'' explores the lives of three sisters, "each locked in her own unhappiness, nursing a secret flower of misery, the seed for which was planted by their late father with a terrible incident in their girlhood" (from a review by

Peter Bradshaw Peter Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire''. Early life and education Bradshaw was educated at Haberdasher ...

). The film received mixed reviews. Tanović announced in March 2008 that he would be founding a political party with his friend, director Dino Mustafić, called Our Party, which would start contesting elections with the local elections in October 2008. He stated his motivations as wanting to bring political change to the country; his announcement was received positively. His 2010 film '' Cirkus Columbia'' was selected as the Bosnian entry for the

at the 83rd Academy Awards, but it didn't make the final shortlist. In June 2011, Tanović was bestowed with an "honoris causa" doctorate by the

. His 2013 film ''

'' premiered in competition at the

63rd Berlin International Film Festival The 63rd annual Berlin International Film Festival took place in Berlin, Germany between 7 and 17 February 2013. Chinese film director Wong Kar-wai was announced as the President of the Jury and his film '' The Grandmaster'' was the opening fil ...

where it won two prizes:

Silver Bear for Best Actor The Silver Bear for Best Actor (german: Silberner Bär/Bester Darsteller) was an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival from 1956 to 2020. It was given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance and was chosen by ...

and the

Jury Grand Prix The Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize (also Jury Grand Prix, Grand Prize of the Jury) is an award given by the jury at the Berlin International Film Festival to one of the feature films in competition. It is the runner-up to the Golden Bear prize a ...

. His 2016 film "

" won the

at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. It has also won the FIPRESCI Award for the best film in competition. In March 2020, Tanović's film '' The Postcard Killings'' was released, based on the 2010 crime novel " The Postcard Killers". His latest film, ''

Not So Friendly Neighborhood Affair ''Not So Friendly Neighborhood Affair'' ( bs, Deset u pola; ) is a 2021 Bosnian comedy film directed by Danis Tanović, who co-wrote the screenplay with Nikola Kuprešanin. The film stars Branko Đurić and Izudin Bajrović. Released on 13 Augus ...

'', was released in August 2021. Tanović holds joint Bosnian and

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

citizenship and lives in

with his wife Maelys de Rudder and five children. He lived in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

until 2007.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tanovic, Danis 1969 births Living people Writers from Zenica Politicians from Zenica Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina film directors Bosnia and Herzegovina film producers Bosnia and Herzegovina screenwriters Male screenwriters Directors of Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award winners Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Screenplay winners European Film Award for Best Screenwriter winners Our Party (Bosnia and Herzegovina) politicians Political party founders Bosnia and Herzegovina male writers