Yugoslav Black Wave

{{Short description|Movement in Yugoslav cinema}} {{redirect|Black Wave|the Belgian hip-hop duo|blackwave.}} {{Infobox Film Movement | name = Yugoslav Black Wave | image =210px | caption = Poster advertising Želimir Žilnik's ''Early Works'' which prompted the publication of ''A Black Wave in Our Cinema'', coining the movement's name | yearsactive = Early 1960s to early 1970s | country = Yugoslavia | majorfigures = Dušan Makavejev, Žika Pavlović, Aleksandar Petrović, Želimir Žilnik, Mika Antić, Lordan Zafranović, Mića Popović | influences =French New Wave, Italian Neorealism, Czechoslovak New Wave, realism, 1968 student demonstrations in Yugoslavia | influenced = |location=Yugoslavia}} '''Yugoslav Black Wave''' (also referred to as '''Black Wave'''; {{Lang-sh-Latn-Cyrl|separator=" / "|Crni val|Црни вал}} or {{lang-sh-Latn-Cyrl|label=none|separator=" / "|Crni talas|Црни талас}}) is a blanket term for a Yugoslav film and broader cultural movement starting from the early 1960s and ending in the early 1970s. Notable directors include Dušan Makavejev, Žika Pavlović, Aleksandar Petrović, Želimir Žilnik, Mika Antić, Lordan Zafranović, Mića Popović, Đorđe Kadijević and Marko Babac. Black Wave films are known for their non-traditional approach to filmmaking, dark humor and their critical examination of socialist Yugoslav society.<ref name="„Црни талас“ као израз бунта2">{{cite web|url=http://www.pravda.rs/2011/03/18/crni-talas-kao-izraz-bunta/|title="Црни талас" као израз бунта|author=|authorlink=|date=2011-03-18|format=|publisher=Pravda|language=sh|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110826062122/http://www.pravda.rs/2011/03/18/crni-talas-kao-izraz-bunta/|archivedate=2011-08-26|accessdate=2012-02-29|pages=|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==History== Black Wave auteurs largely drew inspiration from similar trends in world cinematography, primarily the French New Wave,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Оташевић |first=Ана |title=Европски сензибилитет српског филма |url=https://www.politika.rs/scc/clanak/34652/Evropski-senzibilitet-srpskog-filma |access-date=2024-09-01 |website=Politika Online |language=sh}}</ref> Italian Neorealism and the Czechoslovak New Wave. It was additionally inspired by 1968 student demonstrations in Yugoslavia, as well as other student and civil rights protests throughout the world.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2010-12-26 |title=Sezona lova na "crne veštice" – Ranko Munitić {{!}} P.U.L.S.E |url=http://pulse.sm-art.info/sezona-lova-na-%E2%80%9Ecrne-vestice%E2%80%9C-ranko-munitic/ |access-date=2024-09-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101226185317/http://pulse.sm-art.info/sezona-lova-na-%E2%80%9Ecrne-vestice%E2%80%9C-ranko-munitic/ |archive-date=2010-12-26 }}</ref> The filmmakers were linked by a common wish to increase the freedom of artistic expression, as well as the wish to openly criticize the policies of the socialist state. The liberalization of the film form and expression reached its peak in 1967–68.

In the following years, the counter-offensive against the new movement intensified. The films provoked a reaction from the ruling League of Communists of Yugoslavia, whose official newspaper ''Borba'' published an article written by Vladimir Jovičić titled ''Crni val u našem filmu'' (A Black Wave in Our Cinema)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Radovic |first=Mina |title=Black Wave to White Ray: Yugoslav Film of the 1960s |url=https://www.moma.org/calendar/film/5607 |website=MoMA}}</ref> on August 3, 1969, which coined the movement's name. On October 27, 1969, the Commission of the Presidency of the League held a session regarding the "Conditions and Problems in Yugoslav Cinematography". A conclusion was reached that certain films have a tendency to be counter-revolutionary and degrading. Numerous films and other artworks were banned, with some directors being forced to leave the country.{{sfn|Goulding|2002|p=83}}

On July 5, 1971, a large public discussion was held in Novi Sad about Dušan Makavejev's film ''W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism'', where the film's portrayal of Stalin was criticized and groups feared that Josip Broz Tito would be the next subject of such criticism.<ref name=":0" /> The film was banned and sealed away for 15 years. Lazar Stojanović, director of the 1973 student film ''Plastic Jesus'' was imprisoned for "spreading enemy propaganda". In 1973 the Black Wave was officially banned and the so-called Red Wave appeared. Red Wave films, which were in complete opposition to the Black Wave, were primarily Partisan films: ''Battle of Neretva'' (1969), ''Walter Defends Sarajevo'' (1971), ''Battle of Sutjeska'' (1973), ''Guns of War'' (1974), ''Partisans'' (1974), ''Doctor Mladen'' (1975), ''Red Earth'' (1975), ''Partisan Squadron'' (1979), ''Great Transport'' (1983) and others. These events marked the end of the Black Wave and the beginning of the Years of Lead in Yugoslav cinematography, characterized by the stifling of creative freedoms in the country.

== Style and characteristics == Black Wave films, both fictional and documentary, largely criticized Yugoslav society and its socialist ideology, particularly government officials and the extent of their authority. They represent the opposite of classic socialist cultural aestheticism (most often seen in Partisan films) which depicted Yugoslavia's resistance movement during World War II and its postwar social and economic progress. Many Black Wave films featured a recontextualized view of Yugoslav Partisans and depicted them in a more realistic manner, such as Aleksandar Petrović's ''Three'', whose protagonist's moral struggles and hopelessness in the face of war set the film apart from other representatives of the genre.<ref name="Bradshaw">{{Cite news |last=Bradshaw |first=Peter |date=2024-07-29 |title=Three review – Yugoslavian trilogy of tales tracks the horrors of the second world war |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/jul/29/three-review-aleksandar-petrovic-klassiki |access-date=2024-09-24 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1967-06-30 |title='Three,' a Yugoslav War Film, Arrives |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/06/30/archives/three-a-yugoslav-war-film-arrives.html |access-date=2024-09-02 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Black Wave films focused on the everyday reality of regular people, individuals living in poverty, petty criminals, etc.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-12-28 |title=Zaseda Živojina Pavlovića – "crni talas" u Yu filmu {{!}} P.U.L.S.E |url=http://pulse.sm-art.info/zaseda-zivojina-pavlovica-crni-talas-u-yu-filmu/ |access-date=2024-09-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111228133755/http://pulse.sm-art.info/zaseda-zivojina-pavlovica-crni-talas-u-yu-filmu/ |archive-date=2011-12-28 |language=sh}}</ref> One of the main characteristics of the movement was cinematic social realism,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-03-08 |title=Vidovdan.org - Александар Дунђерин: На ивици европске депоније |url=http://www.vidovdan.org/arhiva/print2471.html |access-date=2024-09-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100308154823/http://www.vidovdan.org/arhiva/print2471.html |archive-date=2010-03-08 |language=sh}}</ref> reminiscent of Italian neorealism and inspired by the French New Wave and other European movements of the period. Black Wave films were often independent, low-budget, filmed with hand-held cameras, contained explicit violence and nudity and featured actors who were largely unknown at the time (such as Dragan Nikolić, who had his breakthrough role in ''When I Am Dead and Gone'').<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 September 2014 |title=Dragan Nikolić: Žika me je poslao u svet filma |trans-title=Dragan Nikolić: Žika sent me to the world of film |url=https://www.novosti.rs/vesti/kultura.71.html:509710-Dragan-Nikolic-Zika-me-je-poslao-u-svet-filma |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=NOVOSTI |language=sh}}</ref> They are marked by a satirical overtone and extensively feature black comedy. Throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, directors started taking on a more avant-garde approach to filmmaking and often utilized more surrealist and allegorical cinematic language. This approach is most notably seen in Dušan Makavejev's filmography of this period (''Innocence Unprotected'', ''W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism'' and ''Sweet Movie'').<ref name="amg-IU">{{cite web |last=Erickson |first=Hal |title=Nevinost bez zaštite |url=http://allmovie.com/work/innocence-unprotected-24894 |access-date=20 July 2009 |work=Allmovie}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Sweet Movie |url=http://www.criterion.com/films/552-sweet-movie |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226105027/http://www.criterion.com/films/552-sweet-movie |archive-date=26 December 2013 |accessdate=1 January 2014 |website=The Criterion Collection}}</ref>

==Notable individuals and works==

=== Film === Notable Black Wave filmmakers include Aleksandar Petrović, Živojin Pavlović, Đorđe Kadijević, Dušan Makavejev, Mića Popović, Lordan Zafranović, Želimir Žilnik, Lazar Stojanović, Ljubiša Kozomara, Gordan Mihić, Vojislav Kokan Rakonjac, Jovan Jovanović, Bahrudin Čengić and others.[[File:Ranko Munitic (1943-2009), standing, with Zelimir Zilnik & Dusan Makavejev, TVNS 1989.jpg|thumb|276x276px|Želimir Žilnik (left) and Dušan Makavejev (middle) with film critic Ranko Munitić, 1989]]Dušan Makavejev is considered to be among the most significant Black Wave filmmakers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sterritt |first=David |date=18 June 2007 |title=Sweet Movie: Wake Up! |url=https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/487-sweet-movie-wake-up |access-date=2025-10-20 |website=The Criterion Collection |language=en}}</ref> His most successful film was the 1971 political satire ''W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism'', which he wrote and directed. The film was banned and Makavejev fled the country, not working there again until 1988. He shot his surrealist political satire ''Sweet Movie'' (1974) in Canada, the Netherlands, and France.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cowie |first=Peter |date=March 28, 2019 |title=Memories of Taboo-Buster Dušan Makavejev |url=https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/6268-memories-of-taboo-buster-dusan-makavejev |access-date=2025-10-20 |website=The Criterion Collection |language=en}}</ref>

Aleksandar "Saša" Petrović was another of the major figures of the Black Wave. He contributed to the popularization of the movement, both in Yugoslavia and abroad. Two of his works were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film: ''Three'' (1965) in 1966<ref name="Oscars1967">{{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1967 |title=The 39th Academy Awards (1967) Nominees and Winners |access-date=2012-02-21|work=oscars.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQXXvjEJG_w |title=Patricia Neal presenting Best Foreign Language Film Oscar® to "A Man and a Woman": 1967 Oscars |date=2010-08-11 |last=Oscars |access-date=2025-10-20 |via=YouTube}}</ref> and ''I Even Met Happy Gypsies'' in 1967.<ref name="Oscars1968">{{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1968 |title=The 40th Academy Awards (1968) Nominees and Winners |access-date=2012-02-21|work=oscars.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6gyakVlsyc |title="Closely Watched Trains" Wins Foreign Language Film: 1968 Oscars |date=2014-03-06 |last=Oscars |access-date=2025-10-20 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

Želimir Žilnik's ''Early Works'' (1969) contains the typical characteristics of Black Wave films: unusual uses of film techniques, political and social concerns, a tendency towards oppositional ideology and a fatalistic climax.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=DeCuir Jr. |first=Greg |date=2008 |title=Old School Capitalism: An Interview with Zelimir Zilnik |url=http://www.cineaste.com/articles/emold-school-capitalismem-an-interview-with-zelimir-zilnik-web-exclusive |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210085601/http://www.cineaste.com/articles/emold-school-capitalismem-an-interview-with-zelimir-zilnik-web-exclusive |archive-date=10 February 2012 |magazine=Cineaste}}</ref> Žilnik's film prompted writer and journalist Vladimir Jovičić to write ''Crni val u našem filmu'' (A Black Wave in Our Cinema), published in ''Borba'' on August 3, 1969, which gave the movement its name.{{sfn|Goulding|2002|pp=79–81}}<ref name="JL" />

Although the majority of Black Wave directors and films were Serbian, numerous Croatian filmmakers emerged, most notably Lordan Zafranović and Krsto Papić. A significant Croatian film of this era is Papić's ''Handcuffs'' (1969),<ref name="JL">{{cite web|url=http://www.jutarnji.hr/komentari/jurica-pavicic-optuznica-protiv-kulture-krivo-je-napisana-ponovno-zivimo-1972-godinu/5715791/|title=Optužnica protiv kulture krivo je napisana. Ponovno živimo 1972. godinu|last=Pavičić|first=Jurica|author-link=Jurica Pavičić|date=March 4, 2017|work=Jutarnji list|language=hr|access-date=2017-03-07}}</ref> the first film to take on a critical approach to the 1948 Tito-Stalin split.

Significant Black Wave films include: {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * ''And Love Has Vanished'' (1961)<ref name="„Црни талас“ као израз бунта2" /> * ''Strange Girl'' (1962)<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2010-03-08 |title=Vidovdan.org - Александар Дунђерин: На ивици европске депоније |url=http://www.vidovdan.org/arhiva/print2471.html |access-date=2024-09-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100308154823/http://www.vidovdan.org/arhiva/print2471.html |archive-date=2010-03-08 |language=sh}}</ref> * ''Parade'' (1962)<ref name="Забрањени без забране2">''Забрањени без забране'', Милан Никодијевић и Динко Туцаковић, Art & Popcorn (2007)</ref> * ''Days'' (1963)<ref name="„Црни талас“ као израз бунта2" /> * ''The Man from the Oak Forest'' (1963)<ref name=":1" /> * ''The City'' (1963)<ref name="Забрањени без забране2" /> * ''Three'' (1965)<ref name="Bradshaw"/> * ''Man Is Not a Bird'' (1965)<ref name="„Црни талас“ као израз бунта2" /> * ''The Enemy'' (1965)<ref name=":1" /> * ''The Return'' (1966)<ref name="Забрањени без забране2" /> * ''The Swarm'' (1966)<ref name=":1" /> * ''I Even Met Happy Gypsies'' (1967)<ref name="„Црни талас“ као израз бунта2" /> * ''The Rats Woke Up'' (1967)<ref name="Забрањени без забране2" /> * ''When I Am Dead and Gone'' (1967)<ref name="Забрањени без забране2" /> * ''The Feast'' (1967)<ref name=":1" /> * ''Love Affair, or the Case of the Missing Switchboard Operator'' (1967)<ref name="„Црни талас“ као израз бунта2" /> * ''The Morning'' (1967)<ref name=":1" /> * ''The Trek'' (1968) * ''It Rains in My Village'' (1968)<ref name="„Црни талас“ као израз бунта2" /> * ''Innocence Unprotected'' (1968)<ref name="„Црни талас“ као израз бунта2" /> * ''The Unemployed'' (1968)<ref name="„Црни талас“ као израз бунта2" /> * ''The Tough Ones'' (1968)<ref name=":1" /> * ''Do Not Mention the Cause of Death'' (1968)<ref name=":1" /> * ''Noon'' (1968)<ref name="Забрањени без забране2" /> * ''Holy Sand'' (1968)<ref name="Забрањени без забране2" /> * ''The Ambush'' (1969)<ref name="Забрањени без забране2" /> * ''Handcuffs'' (1969) * ''Early Works'' (1969)<ref name="„Црни талас“ као израз бунта2" /> * ''Crows'' (1969)<ref name="Забрањени без забране2" /> * ''Breakfast with the Devil'' (1969)<ref name="Забрањени без забране2" /> * ''Red Wheat'' (1970)<ref name="Забрањени без забране2" /> * ''W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism'' (1971)<ref name="„Црни талас“ као израз бунта2" /> * ''Plastic Jesus'' (1971)<ref name="„Црни талас“ као израз бунта2" /> * ''Black Film'' (1971)<ref name="Забрањени без забране2" /> * ''Young and Healthy as a Rose'' (1971)<ref name="Забрањени без забране2" /> * ''Salty Peanuts'' (1971) * ''The Role of My Family in the World Revolution'' (1971)<ref name="Забрањени без забране2" /> * ''I Miss Sonia Henie'' (1972)<ref name="Забрањени без забране2" /> * ''Life of a Shock Force Worker'' (1972)<ref name=":1" /> * ''The Master and Margaret'' (1972)<ref name="„Црни талас“ као израз бунта2" /> * ''And God Created a Tavern Singer'' (1972)<ref name=":1" /> * ''Red Blow'' (1974)<ref name="„Црни талас“ као израз бунта2" /> * ''Sweet Movie'' (1974) * ''Manhunt'' (1977) {{div col end}}

=== Literature === Significant representatives of the Black Wave in literature are Mirko Kovač, Dragoslav Mihailović, Slobodan Selenić, Antonije Isaković, Milisav Savić, Vidosav Stevanović, Ivan Ivanović, Bogdan Tirnanić and others.

Significant literary works include:

{{div col|colwidth=60em}} * ''Gubilište'' (Mirko Kovač, 1962) * ''Memoari jednog makroa'' (László Végel, 1967) * ''Kad su cvetale tikve'' (Dragoslav Mihailović, 1968) * ''Memoari Pere bogalja'' (Slobodan Selenić, 1968) * ''Pismo/Glava'' (Slobodan Selenić, 1970) * ''Crveni kralj'' (Ivan Ivanović''',''' 1972) {{div col end}}

== Accolades and legacy == Black Wave is one of the most successful and internationally recognized cinematic movements of Southeast Europe, besides the Romanian New Wave of the 2000s. Films from the wave won a plethora of international recognition, including a Golden Bear, Silver Bear for Best Director, Cannes Grand Prix, six nominations for Cannes Palme d'Or and four nominations for Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, with success continuing through directors emerging from the wave, including two Palme d'Or awards in 1980s and 1990s. Today, several of the films are considered classics of world cinema and were released as part of influential collections such as Criterion Collection in the United States. Film historian Mina Radovic presented the first international retrospective of the Yugoslav Black Wave at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York in September 2023.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.moma.org/calendar/film/5607?locale=en|title=Black Wave to White Ray:Yugoslav Film of the 1960s|website=The Museum of Modern Art|language=en|access-date=2024-03-02}}</ref> The restored version of Bahrudin Čengić's 1972 film ''Life of a Shock Force Worker'' was nominated for the Best Restored Film at the 80th Venice Film Festival.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-21 |title=Biennale Cinema 2023 {{!}} The Venice Classics restored films at the 80th Venice Film Festival |url=https://www.labiennale.org/en/news/venice-classics-restored-films-80th-venice-film-festival |access-date=2025-10-20 |website=La Biennale di Venezia |language=en}}</ref>

==See also== * Yugoslav cinema * Czech New Wave * Extreme cinema * Counterculture of the 1960s

== Notes == {{Reflist}}

==Sources== * {{cite book | title=Liberated Cinema: The Yugoslav Experience, 1945-2001 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nImsi66fYt4C | last=Goulding | first=Daniel J. | year=2002 | orig-year=1985 | edition=2nd | publisher=Indiana University Press | isbn=978-0-253-21582-6 }}

==Further reading== * {{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-Sdi63FxE7EC|title=Disintegration in Frames: Aesthetics and Ideology in the Yugoslav and Post-Yugoslav Cinema | last=Levi | first=Pavle | year=2007 | publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=978-0-8047-5368-5 }} * {{cite book | url=https://monoskop.org/images/f/f7/Kirn_Sekulic_Testen_eds_Surfing_the_Black_Yugoslav_Black_Wave_Cinema_and_Its_Transgressive_Moments.pdf | title=Surfing the Black: Yugoslav Black Wave Cinema and Its Transgressive Moments | year=2011 | editor1-first=Gal | editor1-last=Kirn | editor2-first=Dubravka | editor2-last=Sekulić | editor3-first=Žiga | editor3-last=Testen | publisher=Jan Van Eyck Academie | isbn=978-90-72076-47-2 | access-date=27 July 2018}}

{{Film genres}}

Category:Movements in cinema Category:1960s in film Category:1970s in film Category:Cinema of Yugoslavia Category:1960s in Yugoslavia Category:1970s in Yugoslavia