Branko Schmidt is one of the most famous and awarded Croatian directors. Born on September 21, 1957, in Osijek. He distinguished himself by winning award at the film festival for his film debut, Sokol did not love him, in 1988. This film is based on the play by Fabijan Šovagović, and in the movie he plays the main role of Šim Begović from the village of Ladimirevci, who during the Second World War befriends one Ustasha and one partisan and finds himself between two fires.
In addition to this film, he directed successful films such as Metastases and Cannibal Vegetarian, in which Rene Bitorajac plays the main roles. He can boast of a large number of films, both documentaries and feature films. He is considered the greatest names of Croatian cinematography.
After completing primary and secondary school, Schmidt decided to study economics. However, he was not satisfied with his choice ,and after a short time he stopped and decided to enroll in the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb, studying film and TV directing. He graduated with the TV drama Rano zrijevanje Marko Kovača and received many positive reviews.
In 1982, he directed the TV drama Hildegard, which was well received by the audience.
In 1991, he directed the film Đuka Begović based on the stories of Ivan and Josip Kozarac with Fabijan Šovagović, who again appears in the lead role with Slobodan Ćustić, and subsequently two documentaries, Six Seconds for Life and Vukovar Memento in 1994, and in 1997, Christmas in Vienna.
In 2000, he made another film called Srce nije u modi with the same war theme about environmentalist Henry who arrived in Osijek in 1991 to save the oldest oak tree in the world. In 2001, he directed the feature Queen of the Night, about a young man who is Yugoslavia's greatest hope in rowing.
Watermelon Road from 2006 is another film with a dark theme and harrowing scenes that are one of Branko Schmidt's artistic signatures. The film talks about trade and people smuggling in the region, and all of this seen from the eyes of a young Chinese woman who encounters many problems due to language and cultural differences.
In 2009, he made one of the most provocative films of Croatian cinematography Metastases, a film that speaks without censorship about the deepest problems of Croatian society, such as violence, hooliganism, alcohol and drugs.
In the movie Cannibal Vegetarian from 2012, Rene Bitorajac plays the main role of a gynecologist who performs illegal abortions without remorse. The names of the cherry from 2015 deals with the harsh everyday life of an elderly married couple from Bosnia who return to their home village destroyed by war.
He worked as an editor in chief of the Drama and Documentary program at HRT.
Schmidt is the winner of numerous domestic film awards, among which stand out the Golden Arena for the best screenplay for the film Christmas in Vienna and Queen of the Night, the Golden Arena for the best male role, set design and tone for the film Watermelon Road.
His work is also recognized abroad, so in Montpellier, France, in 2006, he won the award for the best film for The Watermelon Road and the Grand Prix in the competitive selection of films from Central and Eastern Europe at the Cleveland International Film Festival in 2007, also for The Watermelon Road.
His films Metastasis and Cannibal Vegetarian resonated strongly with the public and became cult Croatian films.
In addition to this film, he directed successful films such as Metastases and Cannibal Vegetarian, in which Rene Bitorajac plays the main roles. He can boast of a large number of films, both documentaries and feature films. He is considered the greatest names of Croatian cinematography.
After completing primary and secondary school, Schmidt decided to study economics. However, he was not satisfied with his choice ,and after a short time he stopped and decided to enroll in the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb, studying film and TV directing. He graduated with the TV drama Rano zrijevanje Marko Kovača and received many positive reviews.
In 1982, he directed the TV drama Hildegard, which was well received by the audience.
In 1991, he directed the film Đuka Begović based on the stories of Ivan and Josip Kozarac with Fabijan Šovagović, who again appears in the lead role with Slobodan Ćustić, and subsequently two documentaries, Six Seconds for Life and Vukovar Memento in 1994, and in 1997, Christmas in Vienna.
In 2000, he made another film called Srce nije u modi with the same war theme about environmentalist Henry who arrived in Osijek in 1991 to save the oldest oak tree in the world. In 2001, he directed the feature Queen of the Night, about a young man who is Yugoslavia's greatest hope in rowing.
Watermelon Road from 2006 is another film with a dark theme and harrowing scenes that are one of Branko Schmidt's artistic signatures. The film talks about trade and people smuggling in the region, and all of this seen from the eyes of a young Chinese woman who encounters many problems due to language and cultural differences.
In 2009, he made one of the most provocative films of Croatian cinematography Metastases, a film that speaks without censorship about the deepest problems of Croatian society, such as violence, hooliganism, alcohol and drugs.
In the movie Cannibal Vegetarian from 2012, Rene Bitorajac plays the main role of a gynecologist who performs illegal abortions without remorse. The names of the cherry from 2015 deals with the harsh everyday life of an elderly married couple from Bosnia who return to their home village destroyed by war.
He worked as an editor in chief of the Drama and Documentary program at HRT.
Schmidt is the winner of numerous domestic film awards, among which stand out the Golden Arena for the best screenplay for the film Christmas in Vienna and Queen of the Night, the Golden Arena for the best male role, set design and tone for the film Watermelon Road.
His work is also recognized abroad, so in Montpellier, France, in 2006, he won the award for the best film for The Watermelon Road and the Grand Prix in the competitive selection of films from Central and Eastern Europe at the Cleveland International Film Festival in 2007, also for The Watermelon Road.
His films Metastasis and Cannibal Vegetarian resonated strongly with the public and became cult Croatian films.
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