ISTVÁN SZABÓ

Director-Screenwriter

(b. 18 February 1938) is a Hungarian film director, screenwriter, and opera director. Szabó is regarded as one of Hungary’s most important filmmakers. Since the late 1960s, he has been one of the best-known Hungarian directors internationally.

Szabó’s films are often inspired by his own personal experiences and explore the political and psychological conflicts of Central Europe’s recent history. His work is widely associated with the tradition of European auteur cinema.

Szabó made his first film in 1959 while studying at the Academy of Drama and Film in Budapest. His first feature film was released in 1964. He achieved his greatest international success with Mephisto (1981), which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1982. This was also the first Oscar ever awarded to Hungary.

Since then, many of Szabó’s films have been international co-productions made in various languages. Although his films are often shot in different European locations, he has continued to make films in Hungarian and frequently chooses Hungary as a filming location even for his international productions.

MILCHO MANCHEVSKI

Director-Screenwriter

was born in 1959 in Skopje, North Macedonia. He is a New York–based Macedonian director, writer, photographer, and artist. Manchevski has directed six feature films: Willow (2019), Bikini Moon (2017), Mothers (2010), Shadows (2007), Dust (2001), and Before the Rain (1994).

In addition to his feature films, he has directed several short films, including the award-winning The End of Time and Thursday, as well as an episode of HBO’s acclaimed television series The Wire.

His 1994 film Before the Rain was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and received more than 30 international awards, including prizes from FIPRESCI and the Independent Spirit Awards. The New York Times included the film in its list of “The 1000 Best Movies Ever Made.”

Manchevski’s works have been screened at more than 300 film festivals worldwide, including Venice, Berlin, Sundance, Rome, Istanbul, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Moscow, and Madrid. His films have been distributed in more than 50 countries and are included in the curricula of numerous universities. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography in Moscow.

PETAR BOŽOVIĆ

Actor

(born in 1946) is a highly respected Yugoslav and Serbian actor known for his remarkable versatility and long-standing career in theatre, film, and television. He began his acting career in the late 1960s, and his talent, range, and dedication to his craft have made him one of the most admired actors in the region. His legacy as a cultural icon in Serbia and Montenegro is firmly established.

Throughout his decades-long career, Božović has appeared in nearly two hundred film and television roles, collaborating with some of the most important Yugoslav directors, including Zdravko Velimirović, Puriša Đorđević, Dušan Makavejev, Krsto Papić, Lordan Zafranović, Srđan Karanović, Goran Marković, and Srđan Dragojević. However, some of his most memorable performances were created in the films of Montenegrin director Živko Nikolić. He entered film anthologies with unforgettable roles such as Željo in The Unseen Miracle, Đorđe “George” in The Beauty of Vice, Chief Maksim in the tragicomedy In the Name of the People, and the eccentric doctor for love problems in Wait for Me, I Will Certainly Not Come.

Božović’s early career was primarily devoted to theatre, where he became a member of the National Theatre in Belgrade. He quickly gained recognition as a powerful and versatile stage actor, performing a wide range of roles from comedy to drama. After a break of 25 years, he returned to the National Theatre in Belgrade with the role of Ahmed in the play Hasanaginica. He is also widely known for his monodramas, including “Reče mi jedan čovek,” “Ćeraćemo se još,” and “Kad sam bio mlađi,” written by Matija Bećković.

Over the course of his career, Božović has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Pavle Vuisić Award for outstanding contribution to the art of acting in domestic film (2011), the Golden Seal for outstanding contribution to film art, two Sterija Awards for his roles in the plays Kamen za pod glavu (1978) and Karolina Neuber (1999), and the Ćuran Statuette for his role in Hamlet from Mrduša Donja (1989), among others. In 2020, he received the prestigious Dobričin prsten, one of the highest lifetime achievement awards for actors in Serbia. In 2022, at the Kustendorf Film Festival, he was honored with the Tree of Life Award for his outstanding contribution to cinema.

Božović’s acting style is rooted in contrast and unpredictability. His performances combine deep emotional truth with irony, sarcasm, and remarkable precision in portraying human character. Through more than two hundred roles, he has embodied the archetype of the ordinary individual confronting destiny – the eternal dramatic tension between courage and fear, dreams and reality. If any dramatic artist can be said to embody the spirit of the Balkans, it is undoubtedly Petar Božović.

RADE ŠERBEDŽIJA

Actor

(born 27 July 1946) is a Croatian actor, director, and musician. He is known for portraying both heroic and villainous characters. Throughout the 1970s and 1990s, he was one of the most prominent actors in the former Yugoslavia.

Šerbedžija gained wide international recognition through his roles in films such as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, X-Men: First Class, The Saint, Mission: Impossible 2, and Snatch, in which he portrayed the character Blade Boris. He also appeared in the sixth season of the television action series 24, playing former Soviet Army General Dmitri Gredenko. His performances have received widespread acclaim.

He has won Croatia’s most prestigious film award, the Golden Arena for Best Actor, four times. For his performance in Before the Rain (1994), he received the Critics’ Best Actor Award at the 51st Venice International Film Festival. For his role in the Canadian production Fugitive Pieces (2007), he was nominated for both the Genie Award and the Satellite Award.

In 2019, he was honored with the Mary Pickford Award from the International Press Academy for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to the Entertainment Industry. In the same year, he received his second Vladimir Nazor Award for Lifetime Achievement in Film Art.

EMEL GÖKSU

Actress

(born February 25, 1945) is a Turkish theatre, film, and television actress. She began her career in 1962 in Ankara while she was still a high school student, performing in private theatres such as Küçük Komedi, Başkent, and Mithatpaşa Theatre.

During the same period, she appeared in several productions on TRT Television during its early live broadcast era, including programs such as Announcement Announcer and Theatre on Television. In 1964, she began studying at the Theatre Department of the Ankara State Conservatory.

In 1968–69, she founded Denge Children’s Theatre, Ankara’s first mobile children’s theatre. In 1970, she went to England and studied mime at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).

She returned to Turkey in 1974 and joined the İzmir State Theatre, where she also appeared in productions for İzmir Radio and various radio theatre programs. In 1980, she continued her career as a theatre actress at the Ankara State Theatre.

While maintaining her theatre career, she began appearing in television series in 1985. In 2002, she directed the Ankara State Children’s Theatre production Ceviz ile Karınca Dost Olunca. In 2007, she started acting in feature films.

With her performance in the film Koridor (2021), she received the Best Actress Award at the Altın Koza, Malatya, Elazığ, Boğaziçi, Balkan, and Frankfurt Film Festivals.

IGOR GALO

Actor

was born in 1948 in the town of Ćuprija, in the former Yugoslavia, today located in Serbia. In 1968, he made his screen debut and also played the leading role in Krešo Golik’s film I Have Two Mothers and Two Fathers. The film has since been regarded as one of the most popular Yugoslav films from the time Galo began his professional acting career to the present day.

Throughout his career, Galo has appeared in more than 70 films and television series, including 19 leading roles. He also portrayed Lieutenant Meyer in Sam Peckinpah’s film Cross of Iron.

In 1985, he founded the film artists’ association Histria Film. In 2017, he was among the signatories of the Declaration on the Common Language, which advocates a shared language among Croats, Serbs, Bosniaks, and Montenegrins.

EDIZ HUN

Actor

was born on 20 November 1940 in Istanbul. He is a Turkish film actor and politician. After graduating from St. George Austrian High School in Istanbul, he studied Biology and Environmental Sciences at the University of Trondheim in Norway.

He attracted the attention of film producers after participating in a competition organized by Ses magazine. He made his screen debut in 1963 in the film Genç Kızlar, starring alongside Hülya Koçyiğit. He soon became a well-known actor and at times appeared in more than ten films a year.

Known as the “romantic leading man” of Turkish cinema, Hun became especially prominent through the films in which he starred with Türkan Şoray. Throughout his career, he has appeared in more than 130 films.

In 1985, he began working as a lecturer at Marmara University.