Zlatko Topčić

Zlatko Topčić (born 30 April 1955) is a Bosnian screenwriter, playwright and novelist.[1] He has written a number of films, including: Remake, The Abandoned, Miracle in Bosnia; theater plays: Time Out, I Don't Like Mondays, Refugees; novels: The Final Word, Dagmar, Nightmare.

Zlatko Topčić
Topčić at the Cannes Film Festival
Born (1955-04-30) 30 April 1955
Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia (now Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Pen nameGold Taucher
OccupationWriter
Notable awardsThe Best Screenplay Award (Hollywood Film Festival)
2011 The Abandoned
The CineLink Award
2003 Bare Skin (The Abandoned)
The Association of Filmmakers in Bosnia and Herzegovina Award
1999 A Man From Nowhere (Remake)
The Annual Award of the Association of Writers of Bosnia and Herzegovina
2014 Dagmar
The PEN Austrian Center Award
2009 I Don't Like Mondays
The Award of the Ministry of Culture
2000 Time Out
Spouse
Amela Topčić
​
(m. 1996)​
ChildrenKerim Topčić
Signature

Topčić's works have been translated into twelve languages: English, German, French, Italian, Czech, Turkish, Polish, Swedish, Slovenian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Albanian,[2][3][4] and included in several domestic and international anthologies.

He is a member of the Association of Writers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, PEN Center of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Association of Filmmakers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, International Screenwriters' Association, American Screenwriters Association, Concordia Organization and the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House).[5][6]

In 2004, he was included on the annual Marquis Who's Who in the World list of the 100 most influential people in the world.[7]

Early life and family

Topčić was born in Sarajevo on 30 April 1955.[3] His father, Zaim Topčić (1920–1990), was also a writer. His mother, Naila (1925–2002), was a member of the Selimić family; her grandfather was Zaim-beg Selimić, a municipal councilor, landowner, benefactor and philanthropist, who was the owner of the Kravica waterfall.

He graduated from the Law School of the University of Sarajevo.[3] At the age of 17 and under the pseudonym Gold Taucher, Topčić began writing crime novels and short stories, sold over ten million copies.[8][9]

Career

Theatrical work

Topčić has produced over forty plays, including The Frog, which was adapted into a film in 2017, and Helver's Night, internationally most awarded play in the history of Bosnian theater.[10][11] He is the only author who thrice won the BZK Preporod Award for best dramatic text, for dramas Bare Skin (2006), Krokodil Lacoste / Silvertown (2010) and Nobody's and Everyone's (2017).[12]

Topčić's plays, which have been staged in Bosnian and international theaters, include Collapse (1986), Musa and the Goat (1993), Kulin Ban (1995), Refugees (1999),[3] Plaza Hotel (2000), Time Out (2002), comedy Head-On (2004), monodrama Pardon Asks Radivoje, Radivoje's Son (2006), Happy New 1994! (2006), Bare Skin (2007),[13] I Don't Like Mondays (2009; directed by Christian Papke)[14][15] and Krokodil Lacoste / Silvertown (2011).[16][17] I Don't Like Mondays (2009) won the prestigious PEN Austrian Center Award. In 2010 the drama was published in German by Der Österreichische P.E.N.—Club, Vienna, and was printed in over eleven thousand copies.[18]

His play Time Out (2002; directed by James P. Mirrione) had its English premiere in London at the Gate Theatre and toured to the Riverside Studios, the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds, the Royal Armouries Museum, Powerhouse 1, and Bretton Hall.[19] Also, it was performed in the United States (New York City at the Broadway theatre), Austria (Vienna) and Poland (Warsaw).

Screenplays

Topčić wrote the screenplays for TV movie Collapse (1985) and four documentary films: The Best Years Ever (1994), Miracle in Bosnia (1995), I Respond to You, God (1996) and Blood and Musk (1997). He also wrote the screenplays for Remake (2003) and The Abandoned (2010). His script for Remake, published like a book in 2002, was awarded at the competition of the Ministry of Culture and won the Association of Filmmakers in Bosnia and Herzegovina Award for best original screenplay (1999).[20][21] His script for The Abandoned (working title: Bare Skin) was a winning (91 participants) at the first edition of CineLink, held as part of the 9th Sarajevo Film Festival (2003) and won the Best Screenplay Award at the 2011 Hollywood Film Festival.

His films have been screened at numerous international film festivals, including: Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Locarno Festival, New York Film Festival, Los Angeles Film Festival, Hollywood Film Festival, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, and many other.[22]

Fiction

He has published a collections of stories: The Vital Question (1981), Fantastic Stories (1989), Ptica iz drugog jata / A Bird From Another Flock (bilingual edition; 1995), Bogomil Legends (1997) and Selected Stories (2000); such a novels as A Man From Nowhere (1986), Kulin (1994), Nightmare (1997), Bare Skin (2004), Safet Sušić (2007), The Final Word (2011),[23][24][25] Dagmar (2013), zavrsna.rijec@dagmar (2017), Overture (2018) and 28 June 1914 (2019).

The story Love Letter from his first book was included in a post-war Bosnian anthology of short stories, translated into English.

In 1998 he won the prestigious Annual Award of the Association of Writers of Bosnia and Herzegovina for his novel Nightmare (1997), which was translated into Turkish (Saray Bosna da kabus, Gendas, Istanbul, 1998) and Slovenian (Mora, Založba Goga, Novo Mesto, 2003). In 2014 he won the same award for novel Dagmar (2013) and became one of the few writers who have twice won this award (his father Zaim Topčić was also a double winner).[26][27][28]

Topčić's novel The Final Word (2011) received the Hasan Kaimija Award for best book published in 2011 and 2012, and the Skender Kulenović Award for best book published in 2011.[29] It was translated into French (Le mot de la fin, M.E.O. Edition, Brussels, 2016)[29] and was ranked first on the lists of international bestsellers of BookDaily and Goodreads in 2017, became the first novel from Southeast Europe to appear on that lists.[30][31]

Dagmar, his 2013 novel, won the Fra Grgo Martić Award for best book of fiction published in 2013.[32] It was translated into Czech (For Prague, Prague, 2017).

Other work

Topčić was the founder and chief editor of the literature magazine Letter and organizer of the panorama of Bosnian war stories in English titled Forgotten Country (1997), as well as an anthology of members of the Association of Writers of Bosnia and Herzegovina titled The Best Of (2000).

He was a Board member of the Open Society Foundation Bosnia and Herzegovina - Soros Foundation, worked on UNESCO projects and is the founder of the Bosnian Tombstone Award and Nedžad Ibrišimović Award.[33] He is one of the founders of the Association of Writers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, from 1993 to 2001 the first Secretary General and from 2006 to 2010 a Board member. From 2001 to 2011 he was director and artistic director of the Chamber Theater 55.[34][35]

Topčić was selector of the International Theatre Festival MESS,[36] president and member of several juries, among others, Foundation for Cinematography jury member for film projects financing.[37][38][39] From 2013 to 2016 he was general director of TVSA. In 2016 he became director of the Library of Sarajevo. He was a member of the Commission for Free Artists of Bosnia and Herzegovina, president of Arts Council of the Sarajevo National Theatre from 2015 to 2019 and is a member of Council of the BHRT Governing Board since 2019.[40]

Personal life

Topčić spent the entirety of the Bosnian War in Sarajevo. He was trapped in Grbavica (quarter of the city of Sarajevo) in 1993. Fifty years earlier (1943) his father Zaim Topčić (1920–1990) was trapped in the Jasenovac concentration camp during World War II, as a communist. About these events, he wrote the screenplay for Remake.[41]

Quotes
"War is a war. Everywhere is hard and bloody, but the Balkans in it bring their coloring and passion. Someone happened to be on the right side. But, madam, be without worry: it is not so far a day when both sides will become the same and when it will not be known which side of the story is right."
—In novel A Man From Nowhere, 1986

Filmography
Year Title Writer Producer Director Composer
1985 Collapse Yes Yes Yes No
1994 The Best Years Ever Yes Yes Yes Yes
1995 Miracle in Bosnia Yes Yes No No
1996 I Respond to You, God Yes Yes Yes Yes
1997 Blood and Musk Yes Yes Yes Yes
2003 Remake Yes No No No
2010 The Abandoned Yes No No No

Theater plays
  • Collapse, 1986
  • Musa and the Goat, 1993
  • Kulin Ban, 1995
  • Refugees, 1999
  • Plaza Hotel, 2000
  • Time Out, 2002
  • Head-On, 2004
  • Pardon Asks Radivoje, Radivoje's Son, 2006
  • Happy New 1994!, 2006
  • I Don't Like Mondays, 2009
  • Krokodil Lacoste / Silvertown, 2011

Radio dramas
  • Happy New Year's Eve, 1977
  • Interview, 1978
  • Emergency Situation, 1987
  • Walk on the Tips of Your Fingers, 1988
  • Cesare Lombroso, 1989
  • Kulin, 1990
  • Lister's Machine, 1991
  • Musa and the Goat, 1992
  • Stanislavski Would Be Pleased, 2007

Bibliography

Collections of stories
  • The Vital Question, 1981
  • Fantastic Stories, 1989
  • Ptica iz drugog jata / A Bird From Another Flock, 1995
  • Bogomil Legends, 1997
  • Selected Stories, 2000

Novels
  • A Man From Nowhere, 1986
  • Kulin, 1994
  • Nightmare, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2004
  • Bare Skin, 2004
  • Safet Sušić, 2007
  • The Final Word, 2011
  • Dagmar, 2013
  • zavrsna.rijec@dagmar, 2017
  • Overture, 2018
  • 28 June 1914, 2019

Books of dramas
  • Collapse, 1988
  • Plays, 1995
  • Refugees, 1999
  • Time Out, 2001
  • Eight Pieces, 2005
  • Bare Skin, 2007
  • I Don't Like Mondays, 2010
  • Krokodil Lacoste / Silvertown, 2016
  • Angry Men, 2016
  • Nobody's and Everyone's, 2019

Awards
  • The Award at an anonymous competition of Radio Sarajevo for radio drama Interview, 1978
  • The Award at an anonymous competition of Radio Sarajevo for radio drama Emergency Situation, 1987
  • The Annual Award of the Association of Writers of Bosnia and Herzegovina for best book published in 1997 for novel Nightmare, 1998
  • The Association of Filmmakers in Bosnia and Herzegovina Award for screenplay A Man From Nowhere (Remake), 1999
  • The Award of the Ministry of Culture for screenplay Remake, 1999
  • The Award of the Ministry of Culture for drama Time Out, 2000
  • The CineLink Award (Sarajevo Film Festival) for screenplay Bare Skin (The Abandoned), 2003
  • The Award of magazine TmačaArt for best drama Head-On, 2004
  • The Award of magazine TmačaArt for best drama Happy New 1994!, 2004
  • The Award for best dramatic text at the Festival of Bosnian-Herzegovinian Theaters for drama Head-On, 2004
  • The BZK Preporod Award for best dramatic text Bare Skin, 2006
  • The Award at an anonymous competition of Radio Sarajevo for radio drama Stanislavski Would Be Pleased, 2007
  • The Award for best contemporary text at the Theatre Games for drama Happy New 1994!, 2007
  • The PEN Austrian Center Award for drama I Don't Like Mondays, 2009
  • The BZK Preporod Award for best dramatic text Krokodil Lacoste / Silvertown, 2010
  • The Award for best contemporary text at the Theatre Games for drama Krokodil Lacoste / Silvertown, 2011
  • The Best Screenplay Award at the Transilvania International Film Festival for The Abandoned, 2011
  • The Best Screenplay Award at the Golden Carpathian Film Festival for The Abandoned, 2011[42]
  • The Best Screenplay Award at the Hollywood Film Festival for The Abandoned, 2011
  • The Skender Kulenović Award for best book published in 2011 for novel The Final Word, 2012
  • The Hasan Kaimija Award for best book published in 2011 and 2012 for novel The Final Word, 2012
  • The Fra Grgo Martić Award for best book of fiction published in 2013 for novel Dagmar, 2013
  • The Annual Award of the Association of Writers of Bosnia and Herzegovina for best book published in 2013 for novel Dagmar, 2014
  • The BZK Preporod Award for best dramatic text Nobody's and Everyone's, 2017

See also

References
  1. "Kada vam se jedna vrata zatvore-zalupe-druga vam se otvore". oslobođenje.ba. 3 January 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  2. "Ne treba Sidranu P.E.N., nego P.E.N. nasušno treba Sidrana". stav.ba. 16 November 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  3. Balfour, Michael, ed. (2013). Refugee Performance: Practical Encounters. Intellect Books. p. xviii. ISBN 9781841506371. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  4. "Zlatko Topčić". Sarajevo Notebook Magazine. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  5. "Zlatko Topčić: U izlozima naših knjižara dominiraju srpski i hrvatski autori". startbih.ba. 10 August 2018. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  6. "Topčić Zlatko". bhfilm.ba. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  7. "Zlatko Topčić: Najgora neizvjesnost je čekanje da se ostvare nečije prijetnje". tacno.net. 17 April 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  8. "Zlatko Topčić, književnik: Vesela književna korupcija ukomponirana u društveni pejzaž". oslobođenje.ba. 11 September 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  9. "Ne treba Sidranu P.E.N., nego P.E.N. nasušno treba Sidrana". stav.ba. 16 November 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  10. "Najnagrađivanija predstava Kamernog teatra 55, "Helverova noć" 30. i 31. januara". efm.ba. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  11. "Uspjeh Mustafićevih predstava u Rumuniji i Italiji". radiosarajevo.ba. 2 June 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  12. "Zlatku Topčiću po treći put nagrada "Alija Isaković"". oslobođenje.ba. 25 December 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  13. "ZLATKO TOPČIĆ DOBITNIK NAGRADE ALIJA ISAKOVIĆ". infobiro.ba. 21 November 2006. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  14. "Nagrada za dramu Zlatku Topčiću". klix.ba. 16 February 2009. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  15. "Društvo i ekonomija: Jednoglasno najbolja drama Zlatka Topčića – BalkaniYUm.TV". balkaniyum.tv. 18 February 2009. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  16. "Večeras: Premijera predstave "Krokodil Lacoste" – Radio Sarajevo". radiosarajevo.ba. 13 January 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  17. "Događaji koji su obilježili januar 2011. godine". klix.ba. 1 January 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  18. "Zlatko Topčić dobitnik austrijske nagrade". infobiro.ba. 17 February 2009. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  19. "Londonski dnevnik bosanskog uspjeha". bhdani.ba. 11 October 2002. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  20. "Družinsko prekletstvo: Zlatko Topčić, scenarist filma "Remake"". mladina.si. 19 November 2002. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  21. "U Sarajevu proglašeni najbolji scenariji za dokumentarni, kratkometražni i igrani film". idoconline.info. 6 June 1999. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  22. "Topčić Zlatko". bhfilm.ba. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  23. "Pišem o bivšim ljubavima jer se jedino njih želim sjećati u svome životu". jutarnji list. 28 December 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  24. "Zlatku Topčiću nagrada "Hasan Kaimija"". klix.ba. 7 June 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  25. "ReprezenT – Održani Četrnaesti dani Skendera Kulenovića". reprezent.ba. 12 October 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  26. "Društvo pisaca BiH nagradilo roman "Dagmar" Zlatka Topčića". klix.ba. 23 December 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  27. "Književno veče sa Zlatkom Topčićem". tešanj.net. 26 March 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  28. "Bez promocije dvaput najbolji". dnevni avaz. 25 December 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  29. Čustović, Merima (24 January 2016). "Međunarodno priznanje za roman bh. pisca Zlatka Topčića". Faktor. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  30. "Knjiga Zlatka Topčića na prvom mjestu Book Daily Bestsellera". oslobođenje.ba. 21 November 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  31. "Goodreads Bestseller No.1: Le mot de la fin". goodreads.com. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  32. "SEDAM DOBRIH VIJESTI: Milion sadnica, plivački rekordi, konačno slobodna Vjeverica..." zurnal.info. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  33. "Nagrada "Nedžad Ibrišimović" posthumno dodijeljena Veri Mihić-Jolić". klix.ba. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
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  35. "Topčić: Kamerni teatar 55 potvrdio status regionalno najznačajnijeg teatra". klix.ba. 22 June 2006. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  36. "Predstavljene predstave ovogodišnjeg MESS-a". klix.ba. 12 September 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  37. "Zilhadu Ključaninu uručena nagrada "Alija Isaković"". klix.ba. 11 December 2008. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  38. "Nijedna drama na konkursu nije bila dovoljno dobra". klix.ba. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  39. "Laureatu Amiru Bukviću uručena nagrada "Alija Isaković"". klix.ba. 3 February 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  40. "Sanja Vlaisavljević, Jurica Gudelj i Zija Dizdarević među članovima Vijeća UO BHRT-a". klix.ba. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  41. "Sjećanja: Zlatko Topčić svoj rimejk proživljava svakog 8. februara". avaz.ba. 9 February 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  42. "Golden Carpathian festival and market". screendaily.com. 31 August 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
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