Ante Babaja

06.10.1927, Imotski - 14.01.2010

 

Director
Ante Babaja, director and a screenwriter, was born in Imotski on October, 6th
1927. After high school he studied economy and law. Thanks to his friendship
with the older Branko Bauer he entered the world of film. In 1949 he worked as
the assistant to Krešo Golik on the set of his first feature film Plavi 9,
and in 1953 as a volunteer he worked on the sets of films by famous French
directors Christian-Jaque, Yves Ciampi and Jacques Becker. In 1954 Belan hired
him as an assistant in the anthological film Koncert. In the following
year he directed his first film, the documentary impression Jedan dan na
rijeci
. In 1961 he directed his first feature film Carevo novo ruho.
In the middle of 60’s he turned to experimental film and made his
experimental-documentary films Tijelo (1965), Kabina (1966) and
Plaža
(1966). He made his most popular and famous film Breza, based
on a story by Kolar, in 1967. In 1971 he made Mirisi, zlato i tamjan,
adaptation of the novel by Slobodan Novak. Then followed a period in which he
made only documentaries (Čuješ li me sada?, a sequel to his classic
documentary Čuješ li me? from 1965). Izgubljeni zavičaj, from
1980, again an adaptation of a novel by Slobodan Novak, is by many regarded as
his most beautiful film. In 1992 he made Kamenita vrata. He was a regular
professor at the Academy for Drama Art in Zagreb. In 1988 he won the
Vladimir Nazor
award for a life time achievement. Eight years later he also
won Vjesnik’s award Jelen for a life time achievement.

Filmography

Kamenita vrata (1992)
Izgubljeni zavičaj (1980)
Čuješ li me sad? (documentary) (1978)
Starice (documentary) (1976)
Čekaonica (documentary) (1975)
Basna (short) (1974)
Mirisi, zlato i tamjan (1971)
Breza (1967)
Plaža (documentary)(1966)
Kabina (documentary) (1966)
Čuješ li me? (documentary) (1965)
Tijelo (documentary) (1965)
Putokazi stoje na mjestu (short) (1964)
Ljubav (short) (1963)
Jury (short) (1962)
Pravda (short) (1962)
Carevo novo ruho (1961)
Riječka luka (documentary) (1960)
Uradi sam (documentary) (1960)
Lakat (kao takav) (short) (1959)
Opasnost pri radu u lukama (documentary) (1959)
Nesporazum (short) (1958)
Pozdravi s Jadrana (documentary) (1958)
Moj dom (documentary) (1958)
Brod (documentary) (1957)
Ogledalo (1955)
Jedan dan na rijeci (documentary) (1955)


Films by this director

Carevo novo ruho

(1961)

Directed by: Ante Babaja
PHOTOGRAPHY: Oktavijan Miletić
Synopsis:

Carevo novo ruho is the first feature film by Ante Babaja. It is a stylized parody inspired by the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, an allegory of a totalitarian society, cult of the ruler and the general atmosphere of that time (Tito’s Yugoslavia).

color, 80 min

The Birch Tree

(Croatia, 1967)

Directed by: Ante Babaja
PHOTOGRAPHY: Tomislav Pinter
Synopsis:

This is the terrifying story of a sensitive village girl, Janica, who is ruined by the primitive conditions of rural life and the viciousness of people. Her husband, Marko Labudan, does not understand her and the only one empathizing with her is the village eccentric, Joža Sveti. But, that is not enough to survive in a community where sensitivity is not allowed and is the cause of shame…

color, digital restauracija, 91'

Mirisi, zlato i tamjan

(1971)

Directed by: Ante Babaja
PHOTOGRAPHY: Janez Kališnik
Synopsis:

A retired professor and his wife live on a remote island and take care of a hundred years old woman, Madona. Caring for her is a great burden on the married couple, but at the same time it gives meaning to their lives…

b/w, 90'

Izgubljeni zavičaj

(1980)

Directed by: Ante Babaja
PHOTOGRAPHY: Goran Trbuljak
Synopsis:

An alienated and resigned middle-aged man who once was a partisan returns to his hometown on an island for his cousin’s funeral. There he remembers his childhood, severe father, a Countess’s estate manager, and his first erotic experiences with the Countess’s daughter. This is Babaja’s most poetic film. It won many awards.

color, 35 mm, 110 min

Kamenita vrata

(Croatia, Jadran film, 1992)

Directed by: Ante Babaja
PHOTOGRAPHY: Goran Trbuljak
Synopsis:

The main character is Dr Boras, a famous cardiologist, who is interested in the phenomena of life after life. He wrote a book on the subject but his colleagues and friends are skeptical and even make fun of him. We witness the reflections of a man who devoted his life to saving human lives and now wants to understand the riddle of merging of life and death. He also has a personal experience when his heart fails during jogging, and after that he is surprised by an encounter with the m...

color, 35 mm, 101'

Pravda

(1962)

Directed by: Ante Babaja
PHOTOGRAPHY: Tomislav Pinter
Synopsis:

Priča, utemeljena na noveli hrvatskog pisca Vladana Desnice, o tuči na ulici koja je iskušenje i dilema za prolaznike - umiješati se ili ne. Pravda se nalazi na ispitu.

b/w, 10'22''

The Body

(Croatia, 1965)

Directed by: Ante Babaja
PHOTOGRAPHY: Tomislav Pinter
Synopsis:

Filmski esej o ljudskom tijelu – u zdravlju, bolesti, ljepoti, ružnoći, rođenju, smrti, ljubavi, sportu, odmoru, seksu, snazi, slabosti itd. Ante Babaja napravio je vrhunski primjerak filmskog eseja kakvome, prema riječima Ante Peterlića, „nije lako naći pandan ni u svjetskom filmu“. Inspiriran kratkim esejom Tijelo Tomislava Ladana, film nudi filozofski sveobuhvatnu sliku ljudskog tijela i onoga što ljudi misle o tijelu i prolaznosti bez da izrekne ijednu riječ tokom t...

b/w, 35 mm, 11'08''

Dobro jutro

(Croatia, 2007)

Directed by: Ante Babaja
PHOTOGRAPHY: Ante Babaja, Goran Trbuljak, Tomislav Jagec
Synopsis:

Velikan hrvatskog filma, Ante Babaja, malom amaterskom kamerom koju je dobio na korištenje, bilježi svoju svakodnevnicu u doma za starije osobe. Kadrove svakodnevice prekidaju isječci iz Babajinih filmova… Zadnji umjetnički pokušaj ostarjelog Ante Babaje pretvorio se u jedan od vrhunaca hrvatskog dokumentarnog filma. Kombinirajući isječke iz svojih filmova koji se bave temom smrti s emotivnim i duhovitim prizorima svojeg staračkog života Babaja je napravio nenametljivu stud...

color, digital, 85'

Lakat kao takav

(Croatia, Yugoslavia, Zagreb film, 1959)

Directed by: Ante Babaja
PHOTOGRAPHY: Hrvoje Sarić
Synopsis:

Uoči projekcije u utorak, 19. travnja, uvodnu riječ održat će Juraj Kukoč, filmski arhivist. Dva brata blizanca suprotnih karaktera na različit se način snalaze u životu. Dok jedan beskrupuloznošću brzo dostigne uspjeh, drugi strada zbog svog poštenog ponašanja. Sve se promijeni kad drugi brat ode u školu laktarenja. Lakat (kao takav) jedan je iz sjajnog niza kratkometražnih satiričnih filmova o društvenim anomalijama koje je redatelj Ante Babaja napravi...

b/w, digital restauracija, 17'
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