Dušan Makavejev, born October 13
th, 1932 in Belgrade, is a Yugoslavian film director. He graduated with a bachelor degree in psychology from the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade, and played a prominent role in student demonstrations in 1968.
Makavejev is one of the founders of the Black Wave, a movement of Yugoslav cinematography. His movies criticize the rotten nature of society, from both communist and capitalist influence. As a supporter of the psychologist Wilhelm Reich, Makavejev often composes his studies into his films. His film Misterije organizma [Mysteries of Organism] (1971) pays homage to Reich'srevolutionary-psychology, never widely recognized.Though the film was banned in Yugoslavia soon after its premiere it was screened again a decade later, in the 1980s.
Makavejev has been the editor of magazines including Student, Književne novine, and Danas. He has also written film reviews and articles on social for many publications, including Polja. In 1958, he published a scenario,“for Godless ballet with pantomime,” as he called it,under the title “Hardboiled Hearts”(Polja, Issue 34, 1958), as a satirical comment on the cultural situation in Yugoslavia. In his later texts, such as “A Bit of Man-eater, A Bit of Philistine”" (Polja, Issue 45, April 1960), and “Young Intellectual Today” (Polja, Issue 49/50, December 1960), Makavejev uses satire to critique Yugoslav society, especially its youth.
Makavejev emigrated to the United States in the early 1970s, where he lectured at Harvard University. He then returned to Serbia and currently lives in Belgrade.
He has won a number of domestic and foreign prizes, including the Belgrade October Award, the Silver Bear in Berlin, the Silver Arena in Pula, the Luis Bunuel in Cannes, the Silver Hugo in Chicago, the Golden Age of the Belgian Royal Cinematheque, and the Film Legend, awarded by the Southeast European Film Festival in Paris.
