I Even Met Happy Gypsies

I Even Met Happy Gypsies is a 1967 Yugoslav film by Serbian director Aleksandar Petrović. Its original Serbian title is Skupljači perja, which means The Feather Gatherers, or (in Albanian)- Mbledhësi i puplave. The film is centered on Romani people's life in a village in northern Vojvodina, but it also deals with subtler themes such as love, ethnic and social relationships. Beside Bekim Fehmiu, Olivera Vučo, Bata Živojinović and Mija Aleksić, film features a cast of Romani actors speaking the Romani language. I Even Met Happy Gypsies is considered one of the best films of the Black Wave in Yugoslav cinema.

I Even Met Happy Gypsies
Directed byAleksandar Petrović
Written byAleksandar Petrović
StarringBekim Fehmiu
Olivera Vučo
Bata Živojinović
Gordana Jovanović
Mija Aleksić
Music byAleksandar Petrović
CinematographyTomislav Pinter
Edited byMirjana Mitić
Release date
  • 1967 (1967)
Running time
82 minutes
CountryYugoslavia
LanguageSerbo-Croatian

Plot

The protagonist, Beli Bora Perjar (Bekim Fehmiu), is a charming but mean-spirited gypsy, while his former affair, the kafana singer Lenče (Olivera Katarina), is submissive. Bora is in love with the younger Tisa (Gordana Jovanović), who is being offered in marriage by her step-father. The two get themselves in trouble and eventually have to flee. Tisa rejects her husband and she and Bora get married in the church. Tisa tries to get to Belgrade, while Bora stabs a man in a knife fight. They are both, therefore, exiled from their Romani camp, yet their adventures continue.

Cast

Rest of cast listed alphabetically:

  • Severin Bijelić as Bigoted man
  • Stojan Decermić as Hladnjača driver 1
  • Milivoje Đorđević as Sandor
  • Rahela Ferari as Igumanija
  • Etelka Filipovski as Bora's wife
  • Milorad Jovanović as Toni
  • Zoran Longinović as Islednik 1
  • Branislav-Ciga Milenković
  • Bozidar Pavičević-Longa as Hladnjača driver 2
  • Velizar Petrović
  • Djordje Pura as Islednik 2
  • Nina Sajin
  • Milivoje Tomić as Romanian
  • Janez Vrhovec as judge

Reception

The film was the most popular film in Belgrade for the year with 400,000 admissions, compared to an average of 60,000.[1]

Awards

At the 1967 Cannes Film Festival it was nominated for the Palme d'Or and won the Special Grand Prize of the Jury and the FIPRESCI Prize.[2]

The film was nominated for the 1967 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film (event in April 1968)[3] and for the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Bata Živojinović also won a Golden Arena award for Best Actor at the 1967 Pula Film Festival for his portrayal of Mirta.

See also

References
  1. "'Happy Gypsies' Tops Yugoslavia's Boxoffice But N.Y. Fest Nixed". Variety. October 11, 1967. p. 27.
  2. "Festival de Cannes: I Even Met Happy Gypsies". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-03-10.
  3. "The 40th Academy Awards (1968) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-11-12.
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