The first edition of Cinehill to take place entirely in its new home, Gorski Kotar, also merits a proper “housewarming party”. And what better way than in the company of the “first guest” of our long-running film festival and this year’s laureate of the festival’s 50 Years Award – the legendary actor Bogdan Diklić. The award celebrates filmmakers who have devoted their life-long careers to cinematic art and have inscribed themselves in film history, while the award itself is as old as the festival, which celebrates its 26th edition this year.
In his fifty-year-long impressive career, this versatile theatre, film and TV actor appeared in more than 200 roles in some of the most popular films, series and plays in the region, while his friendship with the Motovun Film Festival started at the very beginning of the festival. The anecdote goes that Bogdan Diklić was the first guest to arrive at the Motovun Film Festival on the occasion of the screening of the now-iconic black comedy Cabaret Balkan (1998) directed by Goran Paskaljević. Arriving a few days earlier, Diklić was there when the festival took its first steps at the place that would become everyone’s favourite hill of films, and we are honoured that it is in his company that the festival will run up its new slopes.
Diklić was born in 1953 in Bjelovar, where he spent his childhood and early education, before going on to study in Belgrade, which became his second home. Even today, he is strongly attached to his hometown and uses every opportunity to visit Bjelovar, where he began his acting career and discovered his love for film and theatre: “The first cinema I went to was the former Partizan cinema, the first theatre where I watched a play is today’s Cultural Centre”. He discovered the world of theatre serendipitously, when a young hairdresser fatefully took him to see a play so he wouldn’t be bored while his mom was getting her hair done. The actor still fondly remembers the story today. It wasn’t necessarily love at first sight, because, distressed by the scene in which the actor on stage was about to “hit” the actress with a chair, little Bogdan loudly cried out, burst into tears, and needed to be taken outside. It was only the beginning of a lifelong love affair.
Honouring Diklić’s rich acting contributions is the monograph under the title Bogdan Diklić: From Dreams to Life, penned by the great film critic and historian Petar Volk. His filmography is replete with legendary roles in widely popular films and series that left a deep mark on the cinematic landscape of the countries of former Yugoslavia. He had his first acting break in the cult series The Unpicked Strawberries (1976), while the popular comedy National Class Category Up to 785 Ccm (1978) brought him wider recognition. He followed up with roles in classics still popular today, such as Slobodan Šijan‘s The Marathon Family (1982), Goran Marković’s Variola Vera (1982) and The Meeting Point (1989), Rajko Grlić’s In the Jaws of Life (1984) and Three for Happiness (1985), as well as The Balkan Spy (1984) by Dušan Kovačević, the hilarious We Are Not Angels (1992) by Srđan Dragojević, No Man’s Land by Danis Tanović (2001), Fuse (2003) by Pjer Žalica, The Red Coloured Grey Truck (2004) by Srđan Koljević, Grbavica (2006) by Jasmila Žbanić and numerous other titles. You can also see him in the megahit South Wind (2018), which broke regional box office records and spawned an equally popular TV series.
He is the winner of numerous awards and recognitions for his artistic work. For the role of Slavko in Bobo Jelčić’s Defense and Protection (2013), which also screened at the Berlinale, Diklić was awarded the Golden Arena and the Heart of Sarajevo, while he also received the Golden Arena for his supporting role in Danilo Šerbedžija‘s comedy 72 Days (2010). He is also the winner of the Pavle Vuisić Award bestowed by the Association of Film Actors of Serbia.
Had he been less persistent, Diklić might not be an actor today. While still in primary school, he was kicked out of drama class the reason being he “wasn’t gifted”. Allegedly, this was because he repeatedly broke the teacher’s rule of not turning his back to the audience, which he says he still does today. There is no doubt this distinctive actor marches to the beat of his own drum, which is not surprising given he is also an excellent drummer. A renaissance man by nature, Diklić finally fulfilled his childhood wish to learn to play the drums at the age of 44. The decision turned out to be a real hit and led to his involvement in two bands, an album production, and a series of music videos, much to the satisfaction of a wide audience. He is also the author of the book On Acting Without Acting (2010), which is a collection of amusing and instructive reflections on theatre and film, pouring into it fifty years of his impressive acting career.
Although the accelerated pace of filming and working on today’s sets is not particularly enjoyable since it leaves less room for truly getting into it and dedicating to a role, Bogdan Diklić has no intention of stopping. Acting and art are at the core of his outlook on life. “Acting is a look back on the past, which is seemingly dead. Yet, it is acting and films that prove that time that’s passed is not dead and can be reevaluated through art”, says Diklić.
The 50 Years Award will be presented in cooperation with the Croatian Film Directors’ Guild, as part of the 26th Cinehill, taking place in Gorski Kotar, 24 – 28 July.
