Emir Kusturica

Emir Kusturica

Birth : 1954-11-24, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

History

Emir Nemanja Kusturica is a Serbian filmmaker, actor and musician, recognized for several internationally acclaimed feature films. He is a two-time winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes (for When Father Was Away on Business and Underground), as well as being a Commander of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Since the mid-2000s, Kusturica's primary residence is Drvengrad, a village in the Mokra Gora region of Serbia. He had portions of the historic village reconstructed for his film Life Is a Miracle. 

Profile

Emir Kusturica
Emir Kusturica
Emir Kusturica
Emir Kusturica
Emir Kusturica

Movies

Buongiorno, tira il vento
Self
El Pepe: A Supreme Life
Self
A documentary on the life of Uruguayan politician and former guerrilla fighter José Mujica.
El Pepe: A Supreme Life
Director
A documentary on the life of Uruguayan politician and former guerrilla fighter José Mujica.
Balkan Line
Taxi driver
After the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, the Yugoslav army pulls out of Kosovo region, leaving Serbian people at the mercy of the Albanian UCK terrorists. A small band of soldiers must take over the Slatina airport, and hold it until the Russian peacekeepers arrive.
CzechMate: In Search of Jiří Menzel
Self
An epic exploration of the Czechoslovak New Wave cinema of the 1960s and 70s, structured around a series of conversations with one of its most acclaimed exponents - Closely Observed Trains director Jiří Menzel.
To Make a Comedy Is No Fun
Self
Documentary feature about Czech director Jiří Menzel, featuring Menzel himself as well as Miloš Forman, Emir Kusturica, István Szabó and others.
On the Milky Road
Kosta
Spring in wartime. Each day a milkman crosses the frontline on a donkey, dodging bullets to bring his precious wares to the soldiers. Blessed with good fortune on his mission, loved by a beautiful villager, a peaceful future seems to await him… until the arrival of a mysterious Italian woman turns his life upside down. Thus begins a story of passionate, forbidden love that will plunge them both into a series of fantastic and dangerous adventures. They have been joined by fate, and nothing and no one seems able to stop them… Two-times Palme D'Or winner Emir Kusturica directs and stars in this story of love and war, rich in emotion, comedy and adventure.
On the Milky Road
Writer
Spring in wartime. Each day a milkman crosses the frontline on a donkey, dodging bullets to bring his precious wares to the soldiers. Blessed with good fortune on his mission, loved by a beautiful villager, a peaceful future seems to await him… until the arrival of a mysterious Italian woman turns his life upside down. Thus begins a story of passionate, forbidden love that will plunge them both into a series of fantastic and dangerous adventures. They have been joined by fate, and nothing and no one seems able to stop them… Two-times Palme D'Or winner Emir Kusturica directs and stars in this story of love and war, rich in emotion, comedy and adventure.
On the Milky Road
Director
Spring in wartime. Each day a milkman crosses the frontline on a donkey, dodging bullets to bring his precious wares to the soldiers. Blessed with good fortune on his mission, loved by a beautiful villager, a peaceful future seems to await him… until the arrival of a mysterious Italian woman turns his life upside down. Thus begins a story of passionate, forbidden love that will plunge them both into a series of fantastic and dangerous adventures. They have been joined by fate, and nothing and no one seems able to stop them… Two-times Palme D'Or winner Emir Kusturica directs and stars in this story of love and war, rich in emotion, comedy and adventure.
The Legend of the Palme d'Or
Self
From Martin Scorsese to Jane Campion, from Emir Kusturica to Quentin Tarantino, some of the greatest recipients of this trophy recall special moments relating to the award ceremony which closes the Cannes Film Festival. This film brings to light moving and personal stories, as surprising as they are varied, which all contribute to further enhancing the legend of the Palme d’Or.
Words with Gods
Writer
The first of four installments in the groundbreaking Heartbeat of the World anthology film series. Comprised of several short films by some of the world's most exciting directors, Words with Gods follows the theme of religion - specifically as it relates to an individual's relationship with his/her god or gods...or the lack thereof. In Words with Gods, each director recounts a narrative centered around human fragility, as well as environmental and cultural crises involving specific religions with which each has a personal relationship; including early Aboriginal Spirituality, Umbanda, Buddhism, the Abrahamic faiths, Hinduism, and Atheism. An animated sequence by Mexican animator Maribel Martinez is woven through each of the film segments, with each segment narratively connected as a feature-length film.
Words with Gods
Monk (ep. "Our Life")
The first of four installments in the groundbreaking Heartbeat of the World anthology film series. Comprised of several short films by some of the world's most exciting directors, Words with Gods follows the theme of religion - specifically as it relates to an individual's relationship with his/her god or gods...or the lack thereof. In Words with Gods, each director recounts a narrative centered around human fragility, as well as environmental and cultural crises involving specific religions with which each has a personal relationship; including early Aboriginal Spirituality, Umbanda, Buddhism, the Abrahamic faiths, Hinduism, and Atheism. An animated sequence by Mexican animator Maribel Martinez is woven through each of the film segments, with each segment narratively connected as a feature-length film.
Words with Gods
Director
The first of four installments in the groundbreaking Heartbeat of the World anthology film series. Comprised of several short films by some of the world's most exciting directors, Words with Gods follows the theme of religion - specifically as it relates to an individual's relationship with his/her god or gods...or the lack thereof. In Words with Gods, each director recounts a narrative centered around human fragility, as well as environmental and cultural crises involving specific religions with which each has a personal relationship; including early Aboriginal Spirituality, Umbanda, Buddhism, the Abrahamic faiths, Hinduism, and Atheism. An animated sequence by Mexican animator Maribel Martinez is woven through each of the film segments, with each segment narratively connected as a feature-length film.
The Ice Forest
Secondo
In the harsh snowy landscape of the Italian Alps, a young technician arrives to repair an electric power plant of a village plagued by blackouts. There, he encounters a strange disappearance.
The Scapegoat
Stojil
There is something strange - some would even say abnormal - about the Malaussène family. But if you take a closer look, no one could be happier than this cheerfully chaotic family, even though their mother is usually off on one romantic adventure or another. Life is never a bore for Benjamin Malaussène, professional scapegoat and the older brother responsible for this horde of kids. But when incidents happen wherever he goes, police and colleagues begin to eye him suspiciously. It soon becomes a matter of life and death to find out what is going on and who is so interested in ruining his life. Written by Pathe International
Who Is This Kusturica?
Himself
Emir Kusturica views himself as a rock musician and believes that he became a world-famous filmmaker by pure chance, as he shoots his movies only in between concert tours with the “No Smoking Orchestra” band. At these little pinpoints of time he gets “Palms d’Or” at Cannes, “Golden Lions” in Venice, builds his own villages, a power plant and a piste and regrets not becoming a professional football player. Kusturica’s own living is very much similar to his movies, where shoes are polished with cats, death is treated like a story from tabloid press, and life is a miracle...
Balkan Spirit
Self - Director
Filmmaker Hermann Vaske explores the creative Balkan world in the hopes of understanding the meaning of "Balkan spirit".
The Whirl
Bogdanov otac
Three childhood friends from Belgrade, Serbia, whose destinies change as they become adults during the wartime 1990s.
Walter
Himself
In 1945 the forgotten Serbian World War II Hero Walter got killed while defending the occupied city of Sarajevo. In 1972 the actor Velimir Bata Zivojinovic changed the history of China portraying Walter in a Yugoslav partisan movie. More than a billion people saw that film until today. Myth. Legend.
7 Days in Havana
Actor (segment "Jam Session")
A young American boy is trying to break into the acting business, and goes to Cuba during a film festival.
Kusturica - Balkan's Bad Boy
Self
A film director, an actor, a musician, an organizer of festivals, a husband, a father, a grand-father, a friend, a professor... This film is an unexpected meeting with one of the most fascinating European film directors: Emir Kusturica. This is a journey to memory and forgetfulness. Beyond success, money, dependencies and pride. A deeper look into the world of Kusturica and his Wooden city at Mokra Gora. A tale about the won battles, as well as the lost ones. About the everlasting curiosity in filmmaking.
Nicostratos the Pelican
Démosthène
After his wife died a man refuses to go out and doesn't want to talk to his only son. Life has no meaning for him. One day his son finds a baby pelican and decides to leave the bird at home. Pelican helps the boy find his father again and revive him back to life ...
Farewell
Sergei Grigoriev
An intricate thriller about an ordinary man thrust into the biggest theft of Soviet information of the Cold War. Right after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. A French businessman based in Moscow, Pierre Froment, makes an unlikely connection with Grigoriev, a senior KGB officer disenchanted with what the Communist ideal has become under Brezhnev. Grigoriev begins passing Froment highly sensitive information about the Soviet spy network in the US.
Maradona by Kusturica
Self
A documentary on Argentinean soccer star Diego Maradona, regarded by many as the world's greatest modern player.
Maradona by Kusturica
Screenplay
A documentary on Argentinean soccer star Diego Maradona, regarded by many as the world's greatest modern player.
Maradona by Kusturica
Director
A documentary on Argentinean soccer star Diego Maradona, regarded by many as the world's greatest modern player.
Le Temps des Gitans Punk Opera
Director
Promise Me This
Producer
An old man named Zivojin Markovic, living in a remote village prays for his grandson Cane to go to the city, sell his cow and bring back a wife. In the city he is supposed to meet up with his grandfather's stepbrother, but this man is dead. Instead, he meets this man's two grandsons, two good-natured brothers who are nevertheless small-time criminals and experts in demolition. Cane soon clicks with these men, and also falls in love with a schoolgirl (Jasna), who he wants to marry as part of his testament with his grandfather. He gets involved in this girl's family affairs, rescuing both her and her mother from prostitution and gangsters headed by a man called Bajo, and the new group of people return to the small village in time to celebrate Zivojin's wedding to his neighbor, despite the gangsters' best efforts to stop the celebration, which results in a double wedding.
Promise Me This
Screenplay
An old man named Zivojin Markovic, living in a remote village prays for his grandson Cane to go to the city, sell his cow and bring back a wife. In the city he is supposed to meet up with his grandfather's stepbrother, but this man is dead. Instead, he meets this man's two grandsons, two good-natured brothers who are nevertheless small-time criminals and experts in demolition. Cane soon clicks with these men, and also falls in love with a schoolgirl (Jasna), who he wants to marry as part of his testament with his grandfather. He gets involved in this girl's family affairs, rescuing both her and her mother from prostitution and gangsters headed by a man called Bajo, and the new group of people return to the small village in time to celebrate Zivojin's wedding to his neighbor, despite the gangsters' best efforts to stop the celebration, which results in a double wedding.
Promise Me This
Director
An old man named Zivojin Markovic, living in a remote village prays for his grandson Cane to go to the city, sell his cow and bring back a wife. In the city he is supposed to meet up with his grandfather's stepbrother, but this man is dead. Instead, he meets this man's two grandsons, two good-natured brothers who are nevertheless small-time criminals and experts in demolition. Cane soon clicks with these men, and also falls in love with a schoolgirl (Jasna), who he wants to marry as part of his testament with his grandfather. He gets involved in this girl's family affairs, rescuing both her and her mother from prostitution and gangsters headed by a man called Bajo, and the new group of people return to the small village in time to celebrate Zivojin's wedding to his neighbor, despite the gangsters' best efforts to stop the celebration, which results in a double wedding.
Gucha!
Producer
Juliet, a white girl, falls in love with a dark-skinned romeo, a divine trumpet player from the Roma orchestra. But her father Satchmo doesn't accept Romeo. Romeo needs to fight for Juliet at the legendary Festival of the trumpeters in Gucha.
Secret Journey
Harold
After witnessing the murder of their mother thirty years ago, a man and his sister struggle with challenges of their adult lives.
Le court des grands
Director
A program of short films from some of the cinema's greatest diectors. Curated by Emir Kusturica and Stephen Frears. - George Lucas "1.42.08 to Qualify" (1966) - Ridley Scott "A Boy and a Bicycle" (1965) - Robert Zemeckis "The Lift" (1972) - Tony Scott "One of the Missing" (1969) - Emir Kusturica "Guernica" (1978) - Luc Besson "L'avant dernier" (1981) - Lars von Trier "Nocturne" (1980) - Terry Gilliam "Storytime" (1968) - Paul Verhoeven "A Lizzard Too Much" (1960) - Roman Polanski "Le gros et le maigre" (1960) - Jane Campion "Peel" (1982) - Stephen Frears "The Burning" (1967)
All the Invisible Children
Director
Seven short films - each one focused on the plight of a different child protagonist.
Life Is a Miracle
Producer
Set during the Bosnian war in the early 1990s, Luka is a mild-mannered railway clerk whose life is turned upside down, not just by the outbreak of the war, but when his wife runs off with a local musician. Then Luka's son is conscripted and eventually captured in the fighting. To recover his son, Luka is commanded to guard a pretty young Muslim nurse who will be used in a hostage swapping operation.
Life Is a Miracle
Writer
Set during the Bosnian war in the early 1990s, Luka is a mild-mannered railway clerk whose life is turned upside down, not just by the outbreak of the war, but when his wife runs off with a local musician. Then Luka's son is conscripted and eventually captured in the fighting. To recover his son, Luka is commanded to guard a pretty young Muslim nurse who will be used in a hostage swapping operation.
Life Is a Miracle
Director
Set during the Bosnian war in the early 1990s, Luka is a mild-mannered railway clerk whose life is turned upside down, not just by the outbreak of the war, but when his wife runs off with a local musician. Then Luka's son is conscripted and eventually captured in the fighting. To recover his son, Luka is commanded to guard a pretty young Muslim nurse who will be used in a hostage swapping operation.
Chaplin Today: 'The Circus'
Self
This documentary is featured on the Warner Bros. Chaplin Collection DVD for "The Circus," released in 2004.
The Good Thief
Vladimir
An aging gambler on a losing streak attempts to rob a casino in Monte Carlo. But someone's already tipped off the cops before he even makes a move.
Strawberry in the Supermarket
General
An ex-soldier storms a supermarket and takes all the cashiers captive because one of them insulted his grandmother.
Strawberry in the Supermarket
Producer
An ex-soldier storms a supermarket and takes all the cashiers captive because one of them insulted his grandmother.
Super 8 Stories
Self
A documentary about the band "No Smoking Orchestra".
Super 8 Stories
Director
A documentary about the band "No Smoking Orchestra".
The Widow of Saint-Pierre
Joseph Auguste Néel
In 1850, on the isolated French island of Saint-Pierre, a murder shocks the natives. Two fishermen are arrested. One of them, Louis Ollivier, dies in custody. The other, Neel Auguste, is sentenced to death by the guillotine. The island is so small that it has neither a guillotine nor an executioner. While those are sent for Auguste is placed under the supervision of an army Captain.
Emir Kusturica
Himself
A profile of the controversial Yugoslavian director
Black Cat, White Cat
Screenplay
Matko is a small time hustler, living by the Danube with his 17-year-old son Zare. After a failed business deal he owes money to the much more successful gangster Dadan. Dadan has a sister, Afrodita, that he desperately wants to see get married so they strike a deal: Zare is to marry her.
Black Cat, White Cat
Director
Matko is a small time hustler, living by the Danube with his 17-year-old son Zare. After a failed business deal he owes money to the much more successful gangster Dadan. Dadan has a sister, Afrodita, that he desperately wants to see get married so they strike a deal: Zare is to marry her.
Shooting Days: Emir Kusturica Directs Underground
Himself
While his country Yugoslavia gradually turns into a battlefield, director Emir Kusturica guides his film crew to overcome this reality. A new world, which carries the signs of the old, comes to life.
Underground
Arms dealer
A group of Serbian socialists prepares for the war in a surreal underground filled by parties, tragedies, love and hate.
Underground
Writer
A group of Serbian socialists prepares for the war in a surreal underground filled by parties, tragedies, love and hate.
Underground
Director
A group of Serbian socialists prepares for the war in a surreal underground filled by parties, tragedies, love and hate.
Arizona Dream
Story
An Innuit hunter races his sled home with a fresh-caught halibut. This fish pervades the entire film, in real and imaginary form. Meanwhile, Axel tags fish in New York as a naturalist's gofer. He's happy there, but a messenger arrives to bring him to Arizona for his uncle's wedding. It's a ruse to get Axel into the family business. In Arizona, Axel meets two odd women: vivacious, needy, and plagued by neuroses and familial discord. He gets romantically involved with one, while the other, rich but depressed, plays accordion tunes to a gaggle of pet turtles
Arizona Dream
Director
An Innuit hunter races his sled home with a fresh-caught halibut. This fish pervades the entire film, in real and imaginary form. Meanwhile, Axel tags fish in New York as a naturalist's gofer. He's happy there, but a messenger arrives to bring him to Arizona for his uncle's wedding. It's a ruse to get Axel into the family business. In Arizona, Axel meets two odd women: vivacious, needy, and plagued by neuroses and familial discord. He gets romantically involved with one, while the other, rich but depressed, plays accordion tunes to a gaggle of pet turtles
Time of the Gypsies
Writer
In this luminous tale set in the former Yugoslavia, Perhan, an engaging young Romany with telekinetic powers, is seduced by the quick-cash world of petty crime that threatens to destroy him and those he loves.
Time of the Gypsies
Director
In this luminous tale set in the former Yugoslavia, Perhan, an engaging young Romany with telekinetic powers, is seduced by the quick-cash world of petty crime that threatens to destroy him and those he loves.
The Magpie Strategy
Writer
Adventures of an idealistic old Communist whose treasured watch is stolen by a magpie but who overcomes all difficulties.
The Worker's Life
Writer
An acknowledged and proven factory worker gets fired after workers' strike.
When Father Was Away on Business
Director
Tito's break-up with Stalin in 1948 marked the beginning of not only confusing, but also very dangerous years for many hard-core Yugoslav communists. A careless remark about the newspaper cartoon is enough for Mesha to join many arrested unfortunates. His family is now forced to cope with the situation and wait for his release from prison.
Do You Remember Dolly Bell?
Writer
A young man grows up in Sarajevo in the 1960s, under the shadow of his good, but ailing father, and gets attracted by the world of small-time criminals.
Do You Remember Dolly Bell?
Director
A young man grows up in Sarajevo in the 1960s, under the shadow of his good, but ailing father, and gets attracted by the world of small-time criminals.
Buffet Titanic
Writer
Based on a short story of Ivo Andrić, famous Yugoslav Nobel Prize winner, this film is set in Sarajevo during WW2. Mento is a humble, poor Jew who runs a caffe. Stjepan is a man of unknown background, with no social or psychological dimension, who joined Nazis to leave any sort of trace behind himself.
Buffet Titanic
Director
Based on a short story of Ivo Andrić, famous Yugoslav Nobel Prize winner, this film is set in Sarajevo during WW2. Mento is a humble, poor Jew who runs a caffe. Stjepan is a man of unknown background, with no social or psychological dimension, who joined Nazis to leave any sort of trace behind himself.
Guernica
Screenplay
The initiation of a young Jewish child into Guernica's world.
The Brides Are Coming
Director
Jelena, a woman of character, rules an inn in an isolated place in the countryside. She lives with her two sons: Martin and Jakov. Martin has been married to Kata for 5 years, but never succeeded in having a child. Jakov sleeps with his mother in postures suggesting incest, but he is in love with Kata. Each night he hears her cries, the sexual acts with her husband inevitably finish with violence. One day, Jakov can't stand anymore, he leaves, and Kata is found dead the next morning. Two characters arrive then : an old man, who turns to be the father of Martin ; he settles and declares being returned to die here. And a girl, that Martin will keep as his new wife.
Guernica
Director
The initiation of a young Jewish child into Guernica's world.
Walter Defends Sarajevo
Omladinac
Sarajevo 1944. The German armies desperately need fuel in the retreat. Walter, the enigmatic and charismatic leader of the resistance movement, can endanger their supplies. The Germans are taking a cunning plan to remove that obstacle.