A Yugoslav director named Emir Kusturica influences and inspires me tremendously. I recently saw his 1998 film called Black Cat White Cat and loved it. It is a farce set in a Gypsy settlement (a real one) along the banks of the Danube. The real gypsy king of the settlement is in the film! It is a charming, confusing, and really chaotic story shot beautifully. Kusturica is known for his political activism as much as his filmmaking in Yugoslavia, which I admire greatly. He spoke out against the Serbian right/ultranationalist movement on many occasions. He challenged the leader of Serbia’s ultranationalist movement to a duel in the heart of Belgrade, but was denied because Vojislav Seselj said he “didn’t want to be accused of the murder of an artist.” Kusturica’s exercises freedom with the camera that evoked in my mind Maya Deren’s camera handling, and definitely knows how to capture the energy and insanity of the gypsy culture.
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