Biography
Tanja was born in Belgrade, Serbia, and studied Film and TV Directing at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, University of Arts, Belgrade. Post-graduate studies of directing finished at University of Hamburg. Since 2003 she lives in Berlin.
She writes and directs shorts, documentaries and video art. Her films have been screened at festivals all over the world and garnered numerous awards: Sedicicorto, Religion today, Belgrade Ethnological FF, Palermo Sport FF, Bergischer Filmprize, Sehsüchte, Shocking Short Award 13th Street, Deutscher Filmschulpreis in silver and others.
In 2017 she received grant “Künstlerinnenprogramm” from City of Berlin and grant at Nipkow Program in 2003. She is a member of European Film Academy.
Since 2004 she is intensively involved in media education of children and young people. She conducts workshops for youngsters at the age from 9 to 18. Through the theory and practice she tries to bring the young generations closer to the handcraft and creation of filmmaking and TV.
http://www.perlenkind-filmwerkstatt.de
http://startart-verein.de
Filmography
2021 >> LIFE OF A MUTT<< (77 min) // documentary // author, director // Talas Film
2020 >> HOME << (5 min) // experimental //codirector // Filmkraftwerk
2019 >> GOD’S WILL << (20 min) // short // author, director, editor // Filmkraftwerk
2018 >> THE CHINESE WILL COME << (72 min) // documentary // author, director, editor // Talas Film
2017 >> WANDERUNG 2 0 1 7 << (5 min) // experimental // Filmkraftwerk
2015 >> JOVICA AND HIS TEETH << (74 min) //documentary // author, director, editor // Talas Film
2008 >> JELENA‘S WORLD << (80 min) // documentary // author, director, producer // Talas Film // Filmkrafwerk
2006 >> ‘ROUND MIDNIGHT << (61 min) // middle lenght fiction // author, director, producer // Filmkraftwerk Production
2002 >> BY MY SIDE << (25 min) // short fiction // director // Hamburger Film Werkstatt
2001 >> WEDDING DAY << (10 min) // short fiction // director // Hamburger Film Werkstatt
2000 >> PASSING THROUGH << (5 min) //short fiction// director // Hamburger Film Werkstatt
1999 >> THE MOMENT << (10 min) // short fiction // director, screenplay , producer
1998 >> DON‘T EXPLAIN << (45 min) // short fiction // director // FDU
News
GOD’S WILL on festivals
short fiction
Producer FilmKraftwerk
17ème Festival du Court-Métrage Méditerranéen de Tanger, Marocco
Religion Today, Trento, Italy
Sedicicorto, Forli, Italy, Popoli e Religioni, Terni, Italy, Mecal Film Festival; Barcelona, SEE Fest South East European Film Festival Los Angeles, Galichnik Film Festival, Macedonia, Brest Film Festival, France, Buzz IFF, Romania, Dona y Cine, Valencia
HOME
on festivals
feature documentary
Producer FilmKraftwerk
Codirected with Jelena Bosanac
Corona Short Film Festival
Eastern Neighbours Film Festival
MikroFAF Award best regional “Can you breath"
LIFE OF A MUTT
feature documentary / animation
Producer Talas Film
“Life of a mutt” tells true, intimate and authentic stories from the perspective of stray dogs. Combining documentary material with hand drawn animation and voice over, we are crossing between genres and forms of documentary, fiction and animation, giving our silent heroes a voice.
IF…
short experimental
Producer FilmKraftwerk
in postproduction
A young woman starts a journey that she didn't plan, but this might be exactly what she needs to confront all of What-ifs in her life.
LIFE OF A MUTT
documentary + animation
“Life of a mutt” tells true, intimate and authentic stories from the perspective of stray dogs. Combining documentary material with hand drawn animation and voice over, we are crossing between genres and forms of documentary, fiction and animation, giving our silent heroes a voice.
The inspiration comes from ancient Indian, Russian, and British stories. Combining seven destinies/scenes in one life story- from birth to a birth again, we witness their dignifying fight for survival. Talking about existential questions, such as the marginalized groups, nature and the environment, the care for the posterity, highlighting esteemed values such as love, friendship, trust, we want to reach audience from 6 to 106.
Production Talas film
director: Tanja Brzakovic
animation: Vuk Palibrk
camera: Bosko Djordjevic, Aleksandar Kalezic, Tanja Brzakovic
sound design: Milos Drobnjakovic
Editing: Branka Pavlovic, Irena Domazetovic, Mina Nenadovic, Jelena Bosanac, Srdjan Mitrovic-Hitch, Tanja Brzakovic
Music: Janja Loncar
producer: Nebojsa Miljkovic
Trailer editing: Srdjan Mitrovic-Hitch
Color grading: Bosko Djordjevic
GOD’S WILL
short fiction
As four nuns set out from Saint Nino to collect berries, they are confronted by the greatest examination of their spiritual lives: they must decide what to do with the war criminal they find injured in the woods.
Country: Serbia, Germany
Year: 2019
Length: 19:58
Production: Filmkratwerk
Director: Tanja Brzakovic
Screenplay: Tanja Brzakovic
DoP: Aleksandar Kalezic
Sound Recording: Mladen Marjanovic
Sound design: Milos Drobnjakovic
Editing Tanja Brzakovic
Cast: Ana Bauk, Jovana Bozic, Jelena Bosanac, Tinja Dosen Kalezic, Vladimir Tesovic, Lilu
Producer: Jelena Bosanac
Award: Audiance Award Sedicicorto, Forli, People and Religion, Festival Religion Today,Trento
THE CHINESE WILL COME
Feature documentary, running time. 72 minutes
Producer Talas film
Production supported by Film Center Serbia
Director: Tanja Brzakovic
Camera: Aleksandrija Ajdukovic
Editing: Tanja Brzakovic
Music: Janja Loncar
Sound Design: Milos Drobnjakovic
Producer: Nebojsa Miljkovic
Synopsis: Farmer’s family, living on cities edge, fighting with their own ignorance and state bureaucracy; young couple, withshop in province, torn between obligations toward family in China and their personal ambitions; female ensemble ofmiddle-aged shop owners, escaping the monotony of their moldy shops in a dance; worker in a shopping mall, lostbetween his Chinese and his Serbian identity; girls growing up between shop shelves and products with etiquettes “Made in China” from Italy and Turkey. Chinese President in his official tree-day visit to Serbia. Prime Minister ofSerbia is celebrating this visit as “historical”- the beginning of economical rescue of Serbia.
Festivals:
Beldocs, Belgrade, DokFest Münhen, Belgrade Documentary Film Festival -Martovski, AJB Doc- Sarajevo, One world, Wien, Festival of etnological film, Belgrade
Award: Best National Documentary at Festival of Etnological Film, Belgrade
JOVICA AND HIS TEETH
Feature documentary, running time. 74 minutes
Produced by Talas Film
Director: Tanja Brzakovic
Camera: Aleksandrija Ajdukovic
Producer: Nebojsa Miljkovic
Editing: Tanja Brzakovic, Branka Pavlovic
Music: Janja Loncar
Sound: Koca Kastavarac
Sound Design: Milos Drobnjakovic
Production supported by Film Center Serbia
Belgrade, Beldocs film festival
Tirana, documentary film festival
Synopsis: Jovica lives in Kosovo, in Serbian enclave, in village situated in the hills, with 30 Serbian children, 11 of which are his brothers and sisters. The first thing you notice about Jovica are his teeth. They are black, rotten, devastated by caries. His family lives on the social help and child allowance. With cutting and selling the logs Jovica can’t contribute a lot to the improvement of their life standard. This is why he has to find better job. For the work in the catering, he has to repair his teeth. Naturally, one needs a lot of money for new teeth. Where could he earn it when there is no job in enclave? New teeth, passport, any kind of job, leaving enclave - that is the route Jovica is dreaming of. But how can he leave when they all depend on him?
“I'm suspicious of people who don't like dogs, but I trust a dog when it doesn't like a person.”
Bill Murray
Tanja Brzaković
Contact
kontakt@tanjabrzakovic.de