Dragoslav Bokan

{{short description|Serbian film director and writer|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}} {{Infobox person | name = Dragoslav Bokan | image = Dragoslav Bokan crop.jpg | image_size = 215px | caption = Bokan in 2013 | birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name --> | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1961|02|15|df=yes}} | birth_place = [[Belgrade]], [[Socialist Republic of Serbia|PR Serbia]], [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|FPR Yugoslavia]] | education = [[Belgrade Sports Gymnasium|XI Belgrade Gymnasium]] | alma_mater = [[University of Arts in Belgrade]]<br>[[University of Belgrade]] | occupation = Film director and writer | spouse = Željka Zdjelar<ref>{{cite web |author= |url=http://glossy.espreso.rs/poznati/intervju/63786/zeljka-zdjelar-biografija-sa-pevanjem-i-pucanjem |title=Željka Zdjelar: Biografija sa pevanjem i pucanjem |website=Espreso.rs |date=2016-02-21 |accessdate=2016-12-04 |archive-date=12 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012043825/http://glossy.espreso.rs/poznati/intervju/63786/zeljka-zdjelar-biografija-sa-pevanjem-i-pucanjem |url-status=dead }}</ref> | children = 6 | political_party = {{ubl|[[Serbian National Renewal|SNO]] (1990–1992)|{{abbr|SOS|Serbian Fatherland Association}} (1992–1993)}} | module = {{Infobox military person | embed = yes | allegiance = [[File:White eagles.svg|20px]] [[White Eagles (paramilitary)|White Eagles]] | rank = [[Commander]] | branch = | unit = | service_years = 1991–1992 | battles = [[Croatian War of Independence]]<br>[[Bosnian War]] }} }} '''Dragoslav Bokan''' ({{Lang-sr-Cyrl|Драгослав Бокан}}, {{IPA|sh|drǎgoslaʋ bǒkan|pron}}; born 15 February 1961) is a Serbian film director, writer, politician and former paramilitary commander.<ref name="UBC bio">{{cite web |url=http://www.urbanbookcircle.com/dragoslav-bokan.html |agency=Urban Book Circle |title=Dragoslav Bokan biography |access-date=2024-12-23 |date=2013-07-05 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240905100004/http://www.urbanbookcircle.com/dragoslav-bokan.html |archive-date=5 September 2024 |url-status= }}</ref>

==Biography== Bokan was born in the [[Savski Venac]] area of [[Belgrade]] on 15 February 1961 to [[Serbs of Croatia|Serb]] parents Ilija and Milka (née Devetak). Several of his family members (including his maternal grandfather and great-grandfather) were killed at the [[Jasenovac concentration camp]] by the [[Ustashe]], as part of an [[World War II persecution of Serbs|extermination campaign of Serbs]] during [[World War II]].<ref>Ćirilica - Ristić, Jakšić, Bokan, Petronijević i Živanović (TV Happy, 20 November 2017)</ref>

After graduating from the [[Belgrade Sports Gymnasium|XI Belgrade Gymnasium]], Bokan graduated from the Department of Film and Television Directing under professor {{Interlanguage link|Aleksandar Mandić (director)|sr|3=Александар Мандић (редитељ)|lt=Aleksandar Mandić}} at the [[Faculty of Dramatic Arts, University of Arts in Belgrade|Faculty of Dramatic Arts]] and completed postgraduate studies at the [[Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade|Faculty of Philosophy]].

In 1989, he directed three episodes on [[Visoki Dečani]] as part of the [[documentary film|documentary series]] ''Svedoci vekova'' (Witnesses of the Centuries) produced by the broadcasting service [[Radio Television of Serbia|RTB]].<ref>{{YouTube|5tXve5hZxyg|Visoki Dečani - first episode}} Official channel of [[Radio Television of Serbia|RTS]];{{YouTube|sNMj06qkTEg|Visoki Dečani - second episode}} Official channel of RTS;{{YouTube|e5R5qhur2S0|Visoki Dečani - third episode}} Official channel of RTS</ref> Later that year, he moved to [[Port Chester, New York|Port Chester]], [[New York (state)|New York]] and a year later he returned to Serbia.

Back in Serbia, Bokan joined the [[Serbian National Renewal]] party. Bokan and [[Mirko Jović]] led the paramilitary section of the party known as the [[White Eagles (paramilitary)|White Eagles]].<ref name="W post">{{cite news|last=Harden |first=Blaine |authorlink=Blaine Harden |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/11/27/serbian-toughs-harass-republics-antiwar-activists/964f9357-d510-4c81-bd2b-89120e79e66c/?fbclid=IwAR0GBYy5I_0GP0ItT0BRs7MCF0wtwd53G0PJdYC8dXeo6mIOAGkK6wycR_A |title=Serbian Toughs Harass Republic's Antiwar Activists |agency=[[The Washington Post]] |date=27 November 1991 |access-date=23 March 2023 |language= }}</ref><ref name="Time">{{cite news|last=Mcgeary |first=Johanna |authorlink= |url=https://time.com/archive/6728984/face-to-face-with-evil/ |title=FACE TO FACE WITH EVIL |agency=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=13 May 1996 |access-date=3 September 2025 |language= }}</ref> Some White Eagles members were convicted of war crimes and other atrocities, but not those under Bokan's command.<ref name="Politika 2007">{{cite web |url=https://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/8999/Bokan-Strani-mediji-imaju-vise-razumevanja |author=Politika |author-link=Politika |title=Bokan: Strani mediji imaju više razumevanja |accessdate=2022-06-14 |date=2007-12-12 |language=Serbian}}</ref> On 23 April 1992, Bokan was arrested in Belgrade.<ref>[http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a81114.html Bokan arrested in Belgrade], Refworld.org; accessed 13 July 2015.</ref> He was accused of "possession of one hand grenade and four bullets found in his apartment" and was jailed for seven days. The trial lasted for a year and a half, and eventually resulted in a sentence of six months imprisonment.<ref name="Trial">{{cite web |url=http://www.tol.org/client/article/15508-war-crimes-eagles-with-clipped-wings.html |author=TOL/[[Vreme]] |title=War Crimes: Eagles With Clipped Wings |access-date=2022-06-14 |date=1993-11-22 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012045232/http://www.tol.org/client/article/15508-war-crimes-eagles-with-clipped-wings.html |archive-date=12 October 2017 |url-status=}}</ref> The arrest was an apparent effort to ease criticism of Serbia's role in the [[Bosnian War]].<ref name="In other developments">{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1665&dat=19920425&id=JhsaAAAAIBAJ&pg=4824,4866959&hl=en|author=[[Times-News (Hendersonville, North Carolina)|The Times-News]]|title=Ongoing battles threaten European Community peace efforts|website=News.google.com|accessdate=2 September 2015|date=25 April 1992 |language=English}}</ref> After the arrest, Bokan and Jović went their separate ways.

In the early 1990s he worked for the Belgrade publishing company BIGZ and wrote for ''[[Pogledi]]''. In 1992, he founded and led the ''Srpski otadžbinski savez'' (Serbian Fatherland Association) party and ran for the presidency of Serbia in the [[1992 Serbian general election]]. The party however became defunct in 1993. Bokan was an uncredited [[screenwriter]] for the 1993 film ''[[Three Tickets to Hollywood]]''.<ref name="IN4S article">{{cite web |url=https://www.in4s.net/da-se-sjetimo-filma-tri-karte-za-holivud-video/?lang=lat |author=IN4S |title=Da se sjetimo filma Tri karte za Holivud |accessdate=2019-03-13 |date=2014-01-25 |language=Serbian}}</ref> In an interview with ''[[The New York Times]]'' in April 1994, he was quoted as saying, "I don't believe in democracy because I don’t believe that any group at any time can change the course and goals of their ancestors."<ref name="Kifner">{{cite news|last=Kifner|first=John|authorlink=John Kifner|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/10/weekinreview/the-world-through-the-serbian-mind-s-eye.html |title=The World; Through the Serbian Mind's Eye |agency=[[The New York Times]] |date=10 April 1994 |access-date=28 November 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

Bokan was interviewed in the 1995 [[BBC]] [[television documentary|documentary]] series ''[[The Death of Yugoslavia]]''. A part of his interview from this series appears at the end of the [[Death in June]] song, "Lullaby to a Ghetto". In 2007, he created the [[Kosovo is Serbia]] billboard campaign with quotes from <!-- alphabetically -->[[Willy Brandt]], [[Winston Churchill]], [[Charles de Gaulle]], [[John F. Kennedy]], and [[George Washington]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Wood |first=Nicholas |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/world/europe/16iht-serbs.4.8770694.html |title=Serbs use words of Western leaders to support Kosovo stand |agency=[[The New York Times]] |date=2007-11-16 |accessdate=2020-05-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Wood |first=Nicholas |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/24/world/europe/24serbia.html?_r=0 |title=Serbia Enlisting Some Unlikely Faces |agency=[[The New York Times]] |date=2007-12-24 |accessdate=2016-11-18}}</ref>

Bokan founded the ''Lepa Srbija'', ''Rusija danas'' and ''Vodič za život'' magazines, and is a contributor to the Urban Book Circle.<ref name="UBC bio"/> On 17 July 2014, he was named the [[Donetsk People's Republic]] representative in Serbia (with a one-year term) by [[Denis Pushilin]], [[People's Council of the Donetsk People's Republic|Chairman of the Supreme Council]].<ref>[http://www.novosti.rs/vesti/naslovna/drustvo/aktuelno.290.html:505262-Narodna-republika-Donjeck-dobija-predstavnistvo-u-Srbiji--Dragoslav-Bokan-komandant-srpskih-Belih-orlova-na-celu Narodna republika Donjeck dobija predstavništvo u Srbiji: Dragoslav Bokan, komandant srpskih Belih orlova na čelu], [[Večernje novosti|Novosti.rs]], 12 August 2014; accessed 4 August 2018 {{in lang|sr}}</ref> For this, he was placed on a list of people banned from entering [[Ukraine]].<ref>[http://www.novosti.rs/vesti/naslovna/politika/aktuelno.289.html:630828-Kijev-progoni-i-naprednjake Kijev "progoni" i naprednjake], ''[[Večernje novosti]]'', 20 October 2016; accessed 20 December 2017 {{in lang|sr}}</ref>

===Republika Srpska name claim=== In a July 2014 interview for ''Press'', Bokan revealed that he, Goran Marić ([[Plavi orkestar]] founder) and [[Sonja Karadžić-Jovičević|Sonja Karadžić]] ([[Radovan Karadžić]]'s daughter) created the name [[Republika Srpska]] as had been requested of them by Velibor Ostojić, then-Minister of Information of the [[Government of Republika Srpska|government]] of Republika Srpska.<ref name="Srpska suverenija od Srbije">{{cite web |url=http://pressrs.ba/sr/vesti/vesti_dana/story/65409/Srpska+suverenija+od+Srbije!+.html |author=Pressrs.ba |title=Srpska suverenija od Srbije! |accessdate=2019-02-15 |date=2014-07-19 |language=Serbian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908105901/http://pressrs.ba/info/vesti/srpska-suverenija-od-srbije-19-07-2014 |archive-date=8 September 2015 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

===Influences=== Bokan has stated that he first gained interest in [[Serbian nationalism]] as a youngster after reading the [[tetralogy]] ''Vreme smrti'' by [[Dobrica Ćosić]]. Bokan has also been influenced by a number of authors and philosophers from the [[Western esotericism|esoteric]] [[Traditionalist School|Traditionalist]] [[list of schools of philosophy|school of thought]] such as [[René Guénon]], [[Dragoš Kalajić]], [[Mircea Eliade]], [[Julius Evola]], [[Ezra Pound]] and [[Béla Hamvas]] along with ''[[Nouvelle Droite]]'' thinkers [[Robert Steuckers]] and [[Alain de Benoist]]. Bokan has also expressed admiration for [[Miloš Crnjanski]], [[Milan Kašanin]], [[Léon Bloy]], [[Ivan Ilyin]] and politician [[Jean-Marie Le Pen]] after meeting with him in the early 1990s.<ref name="Duga">{{cite magazine|date=11 April 1992 |title=Firer mekog srca |url=https://dadavujasinovic.com/dada-pise/firer-mekog-srca-duga-472-1992/ |location=Belgrade|magazine=[[Duga (magazine)|Duga]] |publisher= |last=Vujasinović |first=Dada |authorlink=Dada Vujasinović |page=47 |issue=472 |language=sr-Lat |trans-title=Fuehrer with a soft heart}}</ref>

=== Controversies === Bokan has expressed [[Serbian nationalism|nationalistic]] and [[Far-right politics|far-right]] views.<ref>{{Cite web|date=May 2021|title=Krajnja desnica u Srbiji 2000 - 2020: politika, aktivnosti, grupe|url=https://www.rwfund.org/eng/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/smrt-fasizmu-sloboda-narodu-FIN.pdf|url-status=live|publisher=Kolektivizam i jednakost|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509183018/https://www.rwfund.org/eng/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/smrt-fasizmu-sloboda-narodu-FIN.pdf |archive-date=May 9, 2021 }}</ref> In January 2021, he was permanently suspended by [[Facebook]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-01-11|title=Fejsbuk cenzura: Dragoslavu Bokanu trajno ugašen nalog|url=https://www.in4s.net/fejsbuk-cenzura-dragoslavu-bokanu-trajno-ugasen-nalog/|access-date=2021-12-06|website=IN4S|language=sr-CG}}</ref> During his appearance on [[Pink (Serbia)|TV Pink]] on 29 November 2021, Bokan insulted opposition politician [[Marinika Tepić]] due to her [[Romanians of Serbia|Romanian descent]] and he declared her as the [[enemy of the people]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=29 November 2021|title=Bokan optužio Mariniku Tepić da je "rumunski nepijatelj", ona najavila tužbu, opozicija optužuje vlast|url=https://www.danas.rs/vesti/politika/bokan-optuzio-mariniku-tepic-da-je-rumunski-nepijatelj-ona-najavila-tuzbu/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-11-30|website=Danas|language=sr-RS|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129191929/https://www.danas.rs/vesti/politika/bokan-optuzio-mariniku-tepic-da-je-rumunski-nepijatelj-ona-najavila-tuzbu/ |archive-date=November 29, 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-11-29|title=Govor mržnje trešti sa Pinka, Marinika Tepić proglašena za nacionalnog neprijatelja|url=https://rs.n1info.com/vesti/govor-mrznje-tresti-sa-pinka-marinika-tepic-proglasena-za-narodnog-neprijatelja/|access-date=2021-11-30|website=N1|language=sr-RS}}</ref> A day later, he denied the fact that he insulted her and then proceeded to insult her again.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-11-30|title=Bokan odbacio kritike da je vređao Tepić, pa je opet izvređao na Pinku|url=https://rs.n1info.com/vesti/bokan-odbacio-kritike-da-je-vredjao-tepic-pa-je-opet-izvredjao-na-pinku/|access-date=2021-11-30|website=N1|language=sr-RS}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-11-30|title=Bokan demantovao da je vređao Tepić i onda rekao: Ona je izrod rumunskog naroda|url=https://www.021.rs/story/Info/Srbija/291210/Bokan-demantovao-da-je-vredjao-Tepic-i-onda-rekao-Ona-je-izrod-rumunskog-naroda.html|access-date=2021-11-30|website=www.021.rs|language=sr}}</ref>

==Personal life== Bokan has six children.<ref name="Serbian bio">{{cite web |url=https://www.urbanbookcircle.com/104410881072107510861089108310721074-10411086108210721085.html |author=Urban Book Circle |title=Драгослав Бокан |accessdate=2021-01-26 |date=2019-09-19 |language=Serbian}}</ref> His first child died at the age of three days due to an injury caused by childbirth.<ref name="Despot blog">{{cite web |url=http://despotica.blogspot.com/2014/04/quand-un-pere-doit-baptiser-seul-son.html |author=Slobodan Despot |title=Quand un père doit baptiser seul son bébé mourant |accessdate=2018-05-30 |date=2014-04-18 |language=French}}</ref>

==Published books== In 1988, Bokan initiated the publishing and Serbian-language translation of ''[[On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and The Heroic in History]]'' by [[Thomas Carlyle]].

He is also the author of the following books: * ''Ognjeni ljiljani'' (1998) * ''Portret mladog dendija'' (2000) * ''Junaci srpskog ustanka'' (2004) – authored under the [[pseudonym]] Vuk Devetak * ''Beograd, grad tajni'' (2004) * ''Novi Sad: Od varoši do grada'' (2005) * ''Kosovo je srce Srbije'' (2008) * ''Politika: Mit, hronika, enciklopedija'' (2008) * ''Srbija na prvom mestu'' (2022)<ref name="NJ interview">{{cite news|last=Jović |first=Nikola |authorlink=|url=https://www.pecat.co.rs/2022/07/dragoslav-bokan-srbija-na-prvom-mestu/ |title=Драгослав Бокан – Србија на првом месту |agency=[[Pečat]] |date=22 July 2022 |access-date=25 March 2023 |language=sr}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist|2}}

==External links== {{commons category|Dragoslav Bokan}} * {{IMDb name|1267799}} * [https://www.librarything.com/author/bokandragoslav?fbclid=IwAR2TdLNBFM_9nW3aiPyk1-lpOOqoSppxx97W0iSRYTCiOgcR54dBGfHp-18 Dragoslav Bokan] at Library Thing

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bokan, Dragoslav}} [[Category:1961 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Writers from Belgrade]] [[Category:Magazine publishers (people)]] [[Category:Serbian magazine editors]] [[Category:Serbian documentary filmmakers]] [[Category:Serbian film directors]] [[Category:Serbian nationalists]] [[Category:Serbian National Renewal politicians]] [[Category:Serbian monarchists]] [[Category:Serbian anti-communists]] [[Category:Serbian screenwriters]] [[Category:Serbian political commentators]] [[Category:Serbian male essayists]] [[Category:Serbian male screenwriters]] [[Category:Members of the Serbian Orthodox Church]] [[Category:Candidates for President of Serbia]] [[Category:Pro-Russian people of the war in Donbas]] [[Category:University of Belgrade Faculty of Dramatic Arts alumni]] [[Category:University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy alumni]] [[Category:Yugoslav expatriates in the United States]]