“I WAS ON THE JURY THAT GAVE TARANTINO HIS FIRST AWARD ”The Life Story of Borislav Anđelić:
He Met Welles and Eastwood, but Grace Kelly Remains His Favourite Star
He is one of the most esteemed, influential, and significant reporters on film events in the region. He mingled with Selenić, Tirnanić, Zoran Radmilović... As a member of main juries and critics’ juries both domestically and internationally, he actively participated in selecting recipients of many prestigious film awards. Simply put, he is a “film man.” He met Orson Welles, Clint Eastwood, and many other stars, but Grace Kelly, he says, was and remains one of his favourites.
My parents were in the natural sciences. My father, Tatomir, whom I loved dearly, was a professor at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, an academician, a member of the International Astronomical Federation, and collaborated with NASA. He brought the first astronauts to Belgrade, and he recalls that Tito hosted a lunch for them in Grocka. He met my mother at the faculty, where he was an assistant, and she later taught at the First Belgrade Preparatory School, which he decided not to attend, opting instead for the Second Preparatory School, located at the current site of Politika.
Two Degrees
I had a sister seven years his junior. When she was about to be born, I hoped she would be a boy to join our football team on the street, where I also hung out with Toma Fila. I wanted her to be named Dušan.
My final school paper was on Hemingway's novel The Old Man and the Sea, but at the last moment, I changed his mind, wrote about aviation, enrolled in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, and completed it. However, my love for literature led me to the Department of English Language and Literature, which I completed simultaneously with my engineering studies.
First Film
The first film I saw in the cinema was Bash Chelik, which was a school outing. I adored James Stewart and watched the western Winchester '73 seven or eight times. I frequented the Balkan Cinema, much to my mother’s dismay, as it was a gathering place for Dorćol ruffians and a somewhat revolutionary crowd. When I delved deeper into cinema, Citizen Kane left a strong impression on me, and I was especially thrilled when I met Orson Welles.
In those rebellious days of my youth, I idolised James Dean, especially his film The Giant. Dean had an incredibly personal style of acting, which was unique. I also liked Gary Cooper and John Wayne, as westerns were very popular then. Sergio Leone did great things for the genre, and I even met Clint Eastwood at a dinner in Cannes.
Foreign Trade
My first job wasn’t related to either of his degrees; I worked in foreign trade at Univerzal, mainly selling machinery. I was theoretically well-equipped but wasn’t practical.
I remember neighbours always asking me for car maintenance advice, assuming I was an expert, but I had no idea what to tell them. I’d listen to the engine and then, like a con artist, refer them to a mechanic.
Tirke, Mira, Muci...
In my youth, he enjoyed writing, a talent inherited from my mother, who was artistically inclined. As a child, I received some Zmaj Awards, even for drawing. I wrote for the magazine Student, and around 1964, I joined the editorial team of the youth magazine Susret, where I became good friends with Bogdan Tirnanić, his editor. I loved the theatre and watched many performances during a time when it was flourishing. I began writing critiques and socialising with Muci Drašković and was later president of the Atelje 212 fan club. I recall Mira Trailović viewing the club as a fan group, often saying, “Boro, please make sure we have three rounds of applause tonight!” I’d reply, “But Mira, they’re theatre lovers. I’ll suggest it, but it’s not a support club.” I mingled with Slobodan Selenić, Vlada Stamenković, and Zoran Radmilović – those days were golden times.
Family
I married Irena in 1977, and we are still together. We have two daughters: Tijana, who graduated from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, and Jelena, who attended the Academy of Arts, following in my and my mother’s footsteps.
My elder daughter worked on the film Frozen Stiff, for which they borrowed my car for filming and ended up damaging it without follow-up. She didn’t continue in the field. My younger daughter worked in television for a while and later moved to Trieste with her husband, where they still live.
I met Irena in the theatre, where I sat next to her to avoid an ex-girlfriend who was there with a new partner. After the performance, I escorted her home. She lived on Dragoslava Jovanovića Street, where we now live. However, she mentioned going to Last Chance (a local café), and I thought I didn’t need a girl who frequented cafés at all hours. I got her number but didn’t call. Our next meeting was at Madera, where I was with my friend Dimitrije Jovanović. My friend commented on a group of girls at a nearby table, and Irena was among them. I thought, “If he finds her attractive, why shouldn’t I?” And so, we’ve been married for 47 years.
I didn’t abuse my access to beautiful women, especially actresses, though I’ve always loved women. I remark that men often boast about who they’ve been with, something I never did.
Tapušković’s advice
Once, I entertained the foolish idea of divorce, a mistake I’m glad I didn’t make. I played tennis with Branislav Tapušković, who sensed the topic before I brought it up, asking, “Are you thinking about divorce?” Surprised, I asked how he knew, and Tapušković replied, “You have the same foolish look I had when I was divorcing.” This advice cooled me down and led me to reconsider.
Amateur theatres
In my youth, I loved amateur theatre and eventually became Vice President of the International Association of Amateur Theatre, which opened doors to various theatre festivals worldwide. I felt like a “star,” as few covered the amateur scene. I followed Dadov, Theatre Left, and Branko Krsmanović, helping them gain recognition.
Even before Mira Trailović, I saw The Living Theatre at a festival in Parma and later helped bring them to BITEF, a significant achievement.
Writing for newspapers
I was also growing as a critic and was invited to be a selector for Sterijino Pozorje, which was an honour and a significant experience. I wrote for various Yugoslav magazines like Polja, Odjek, Mladost, Zagreb's Telegraf, and later Prolog. I collaborated with Tomislav Kurelec, who also wrote film reviews and encouraged me to write about cinema. We remained great friends until Kurelec’s death, and I was even his best man.
The reason I accepted writing about cinema was pragmatic, as writing about theatre didn’t pay as well in journalism, and by covering film, I could attend many international festivals. I think I made the right choice. Around that time, our theatre actors were also getting involved in the film industry.
Tirnanić doing military service
When Tirnanić went too do his military service, we faced an issue at the Susret magazine, as with my two degrees, I couldn’t keep up with both theatre and film. We held a recruitment call for a new colleague, and Božidar Zečević applied. He missed the deadline by one day but insisted we review his work. We half-heartedly told him, “Just leave the text,” but he turned out to be the best and joined us, staying on even after Tirke returned from the army.
Tennis at Kalemegdan
Since entering film criticism, I’ve spent most of my career in that field. I collaborated with international magazines and met many interesting people. I encountered greats of our cinema like Saša Petrović and Žika Pavlović; they were older, and I learned a lot from them. I often played tennis at Kalemegdan with Srđan Karanović, Goran Marković, and Rajko Grlić, and Rade Marković would join us. Rade was very concerned about looking good on the court, as he was already a big star then. I was surprised to discover he wore a corset under his shirt, and I noticed he sometimes struggled to breathe—it was amusing for me, while for him, it was crucial to look good in front of passers-by.
Films at Cannes
I recall working with Milan Vlajčić, with whom I later developed a friendly relationship. He always had a mentor-like attitude towards me, despite not being much older. Once, he gave me a list of books I had to read, which I followed, and it was genuinely helpful. He was well-meaning, and we were never rivals. He and Dinko Tucaković would watch everything in Cannes, sometimes up to five or six films a day, with additional screenings at night—they were incredibly dedicated to their work.
I joined the FIPRESCI association of film critics, which held importance in both European and global circles. In 1996, I became the Serbian president of that organisation and remained until 2020. I believe we did great work for the promotion of Serbian film, starting to award some significant prizes. Dinko Tucaković helped us in the beginning, and later, Ivan Karl joined. We stopped all this during the COVID-19 pandemic, and I feel that the whole endeavour has been on a decline since then. Film criticism has waned, and there is significant pressure from television and streaming platforms, which also affects festival programming. Netflix has started demanding rule changes even in Cannes. Previously, criticism wasn’t published until the audience had seen the film, although accredited journalists could see it earlier. Now, everyone is competing for clicks, and everything is published immediately. I’ve seen young journalists in Cannes who, right after a screening, sit on the steps and start typing their reviews. I don’t think this is in the spirit of the rules and isn’t fair.
I spent 27 years as a film critic at Večernje Novosti. Back then, I was backed by a reputable newspaper with a high circulation, and everyone invited me to festivals. Young journalists in the culture section would joke, “When I grow up, I’ll be Bora,” all because of the invitations I received from most major festivals.
Princess of Monaco
I always tried not to hurt anyone with my reviews. Even if I didn’t like a film, I didn’t say it loudly, as each film is a work of art, with the actor displaying their talent. I didn’t get too close to actors, as they often wanted, conditionally speaking, to gain some benefit from that friendship. I met many actors, of course, but Grace Kelly was and remained one of my favourites. I was lucky enough to meet her and have a conversation. When she became the Princess of Monaco, she became president of the amateur theatre festival in the Principality, which our theatres also attended. She was wonderful, meeting and speaking with all of us, as much as the Swiss Guard, who were protecting her, allowed.
Festivals
Every year was dynamic and interesting. I’d start in January with the Alpe Adria Festival in Trieste, followed by the prestigious Rotterdam Festival, then Berlin, where I was a jury member for the critics’ award several times, which was fantastic.
I managed to give some directors their first career award. Sometimes, I would influence my colleagues and successfully “persuade” them to award someone I thought was deserving, including some of our authors.
After Berlin came FEST, which I had a personal connection with and where I served as Artistic Director twice; in 1997, I curated the selection. The festival was interrupted that year due to police attacks on students, and since my daughter was a student at the time, I withdrew for moral and ethical reasons. The festival was later “revived” and held, and I only returned to FEST in 2010, collaborating with Ivan Karl. I think we did a good job, as we sold over 100,000 tickets in 2014.
After FEST, I always attended the Austrian film festival Diagonale in Graz, where I brought some interesting films back to Belgrade. In April, the Istanbul festival was held, showcasing Turkish films.
Then came two festivals I particularly loved: Crossing Europe in Linz and Go East in Wiesbaden, which celebrated Eastern European cinema, where Serbian films were also shown.
Palme d'Or
The season’s crowning event was in Cannes. I made every effort to bring Palme d'Or winners to Belgrade, with distributor support, which isn’t always possible today. I attended Cannes for 32 years, only missing it in 1999 when our country was bombed. We had permission to leave the country, but I felt it wasn’t right to leave our families behind, so I didn’t go.
In June, I loved going to Taormina in Sicily, where films were screened in an ancient open-air amphitheatre. Once, they were showing Apocalypse Now on screen, and Mount Etna erupted in the background. It was surreal – explosions on the screen and explosions behind it. There were some minor issues getting back, but everything ended well.
Zorana Jeftić
My summer tour continued in Pula, where I kept going even after Yugoslavia dissolved, as they were excellent hosts. We often played football there, journalists against actors, and had a wonderful time. Aca Đorđević loved tennis, so he constantly woke me up early to be his partner on the court.
I also attended Venice for some time, as I adore Italy, but I preferred going to Toronto, where the festival had its own building in the city centre. It was held before the Oscars and often indicated which films would do well, although there was no awards ceremony.
Back then, the San Sebastian festival was important, and I went because FIPRESCI awarded prizes there. Thessaloniki followed, which held regional significance, and I was on the jury and aimed to represent Serbian cinema. At the end of the year, I usually went to Warsaw and Mannheim, where Wim Wenders, whom I greatly admired as a director, was discovered.
No interview with the winner
One of my favourite memories was at the Stockholm Festival, where I was on the jury and met Quentin Tarantino. We awarded him the critics’ prize for Reservoir Dogs, his first career award. We were staying at the same hotel, so we got to know each other, and he called me Boris. I was fascinated by how talkative and pleasant he was, though he constantly meandered in conversation, intertwining stories—much like his later film style.
Tarantino came to Stockholm alone, but he later worked with Harvey Weinstein, with whom I had a solid relationship. His Miramax did something wonderful. During the Cannes Festival, they’d rent a venue for parties and gatherings attended by people like Prince Albert of Monaco, and I was also invited. In 1994, Tarantino personally invited me to one such gathering, where he was willing to do an interview. I didn’t feel like going, and he went on to win the Palme d'Or for Pulp Fiction, leaving me without an interview with the winner.
Monica Bellucci
I remember 11 September 2001. There was a morning screening of Goran Paskaljević’s How Harry Became a Tree in Toronto, and when we left the cinema, the screens showed the collapse of the towers in New York. I initially thought it was just another silly American show, but then I saw a respected critic from San Francisco crying and realised it was real. Incidentally, Paskaljević practically discovered Cillian Murphy back then, who now, of course, has won an Oscar.
Around that time, I spent some days with Monica Bellucci and her then-husband Vincent Cassel in a hotel lobby while we waited to return from Canada, as all flights were cancelled. David Lynch, for example, left by car—it was easier for him—but we had to wait for a transatlantic flight. Monica remains an excellent actress and one of my favourite actresses. But I didn’t want to exploit the situation and push her for an interview.
Retirement days
I stopped attending festivals in 2020, primarily due to the pandemic and a general decrease in interest in that type of reporting. Additionally, attending something like the Cannes Film Festival costs several thousand euros, and few are willing to fund that.
Our FIPRESCI association still exists, but unfortunately, our authors now have very few outlets to publish in, so we’re no longer as active and no longer give awards. The hyperproduction of films and the expansion of streaming platforms have changed attitudes towards film criticism, and printed media worldwide are struggling.
I spend my retirement days with my wife, dedicated to our three grandchildren, and I spend most of my time with our dog, Arsen. On Mondays, I meet up with old friends—Zoran Bogdan, Professor Grubješić, and Darko Bajić—at a local café. I live a peaceful, retired life.