THE BOTORIĆ FAMILY

Svetozar Botorić je bio producent Svetozar Botorić (1857–1916) was the owner of the Hotel Paris in downtown Belgrade. In 1911 he became the first film producer in the Balkans. He produced some 20 documentaries and 2 feature films. His most famous film is a historical essay The Life and Deeds of the Immortal Vožd Karađorđe.

After WWII, during communist rule, Botorić’s family was declared "bourgeois" and therefore denied property and even forbidden from finding work. His son was sentenced to 10 years in prison and his daughter was removed from the Music Academy in Belgrade, where she was a tenured professor. She escaped to Paris and worked as a piano performer. In 1995, she gave an interview to Eric Le Roy from the Centre National de la Cinématographie (today Le Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée – CNC) and to the author of this film.

Srđan Knežević was born in Belgrade in 1957. He graduated from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade. He obtained M. A. degree from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Belgrade and PhD in Film Studies. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Serbia.