He took a degree in film and TV directing from FAMU in Prague in 1972. He began his film career with the award winning short feature films Legenda o Lapotu (1972) and Potomak (1974). He made his feature film debut with Čuvar plaže u zimskom periodu (1976; won the Golden Arena for the best director in Pula), which together with his next film, Pas koji je voleo vozove (1977), is a melancholy comedy dealing with the topic of human loneliness. In 1979 (for Zemaljski dani teku) and 1980 (for Posebni tretman), he won several awards at domestic and international festivals. His international acclaim led him to Hollywood where, in 1983, he directed Twilight time. His other importanat films include Varljivo ljeto 68 (1984), Anđeo čuvar (1987), Vreme čuda (1989), Tango argentino (1992), Tuđa Amerika (1995) and Bure Baruta (1998).