Branko Schmidt director

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Birth: 21. 9. 1957., Osijek

Schmidt took a television and film directing degree from the Academy for theatre, film and television (Academy of Drama Arts) in Zagreb. Beginning in his high school days, he worked as an amateur on film, and as a student, he directed a few notable TV-films (Rano sazrijevanja Marka Kovača, 1981; Za sretne dane, Pišta Baći, 1982; Hildegard, 1983). Afterwards, he directed the TV-series for children Operacija Barbarosa (1989/90). Most of his feature films are dedicated to his home region of Croatia, Slavonia, and the destinies of its people, from the turbulent years of WW II to the civil war of the 1990’s. The most common flaw of his films is the exaggeration of ideology. Critics mostly favor his most popular film, Sokol ga nije volio (1988, based on the theatre play by Fabijan Šovagović), about a man from Slavonia who tries to stay neutral during the politically and militarily turbulent time of WW II. Nevertheless, two of Schmidt’s best films have been underestimated: the civil war comedy, Srce nije u modi (2000), and the nostalgic romantic comedy Kraljica noći (2001), about Osijek during the 60’s.

Awards:
Pula ’88 - Magazine Studio’s Golden wreath as the best debutant director
Pula ’97 - Golden arena for the screenplay of the film Božić u Beču