Milton Manaki was a pioneering Yugoslavian film director, cinematographer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his influential films of the 1920s and 1930s, which depicted the everyday lives of ordinary people in the Balkans. His work has been called “the most significant contribution to Yugoslav cinema,” and he is credited with introducing the language of cinema to the region.
Manaki was born in 1877 in the village of Manak, in what is now present-day North Macedonia. He studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, and later became a professional photographer. He eventually began making short films, and in 1913, he co-directed a feature-length film titled “Macedonia in Arms,” which depicted the struggle of local people during the Balkan Wars.
Manaki continued to make films over the next two decades, including a series of documentaries about the everyday life of people in the Balkans. He was particularly interested in the lives of women, and his films often focused on the plight of the poor and marginalized. Manaki was known for his creative use of camera techniques, such as close-ups and extreme long shots, which helped to give his films a realism and intimacy that was unprecedented at the time.
Manaki also wrote and directed two major narrative films: the 1915 drama “The White Angel” and the 1929 drama “The Blue Gipsy.” The latter is considered one of the greatest films of the time, and it won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
Manaki died in 1964, at the age of 87. He is remembered as one of the most important figures in Yugoslavian cinema, and his work is still widely celebrated today. His influence can be seen in the films of filmmakers like Emir Kusturica and Aleksandar Petrovic. Manaki’s legacy has been honored with numerous awards and accolades, including a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award from the Yugoslavian Academy of Film Arts and Sciences in 1965.
