The Master and Margarita

Majstor i Margarita

The plot is set in Moscow, in 1925. Writer Nikolaj Maksudov Maestro is convicted in public by the members of the Proletarian Writers Union, because of his work Pontius Pilatus, so the scheduled premiere of this drama gets canceled. The strange and sudden appearance of the black magic professor and his associates adds confusion to unusual events. Margarita, the woman with whom the professor’s in love, stands beside him in the most difficult moments. When she decides to live constantly with him, the writer suddenly disappears. He is in a mental institution and whatever happens from that point onwards, is not certain to be real or just the fruits of his imagination.

Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Direction: Aleksandar Petrović
Script: Aleksandar Petrović, in collaboration with Barbara Alberti and Amedeo Pagani, based on the eponymous novel by Mikhaïl Bulgakov
Cinematography: Nikola Majdak, Roberto Gerardi
Editing: Mihailo Ilić
Music: Ennio Morricone
Actors: Ugo Tognazzi, Mimsy Farmer, Alain Cuny, Velimir Bata Živojinović, Pavle Vujisić, Fabijan Šovagović, Ljuba Tadić, Taško Načić, Danilo Bata Stojković, Fahro Konjhodzić, Zlatko Madunić, Radomir Reljić, Janez Vrhovec, Branka Veselinović, Eugen Verber, Šandor Medve, Vasa Pantelić, Aleksandar Đurić, Anela Gojkov, Eva Ras, Branislav Jerenić Branko Pleša
Production: Dunav Film, Euro International Film
Producers: Arigo Colombo
Costumes: Divna Jovanović
Sets: Vlastimir Gavrik
Format: DCP
Color: Color
Production Country: Yugoslavia, Italy
Production Year: 1972
Duration: 95΄
Contact: Delta Video
Awards/Distinctions: Silver Lion, Cidalc Prize for Best Adaptation of a Literary Work – Venice IFF 1972, Silver Hugo – Chicago IFF 1972, Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor – Pula FF 1972,Viennale Prize – Vienna IFF 1973

Special Effects: Dušan Vukotić

Aleksandar Petrović

Aleksandar Petrović was born in Paris on January 14th, 1929. His parents, Dragomir and Anka, studied in France after World War I. The Petrović family moved back to Belgrade in 1930. In 1947, Petrović went to the Academy of Film in Prague (FAMU), but for political reasons, returned to Belgrade in 1948. He then started working as an assistant director and film and art critic, and continued his studies in art history. His first short film Flight Above the Marshes represented Yugoslavia for the first time at the Cannes Film Festival in 1957. In 1961, his only son Dragan was born and suffered from encephalitis which left him handicapped for the rest of his short life. In 1966, Petrović’s third feature film Three was nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. In 1967, I Even Met Happy Gypsies received the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and was also nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Petrović was one of the first intellectuals to oppose Slobodan Milosevic and took a strong stance against nationalism and war until his death. In 1987, Petrović finished shooting his final film, Migrations, starring Isabelle Huppert and Richard Berry. Aleksandar Petrović died in Paris on August 20th, 1994, before seeing the Migrations premiere.

Filmography

1955 Shoulder by Shoulder (short doc)
1956-1957 Flight Over the Marshes (short)
1957 Petar Dobrović (short)
1958 The Only Exit
1958 The Roads (short)
1960 The War on War (short)
1961 And Love Has Vanished
1963 Days
1964 Record (short)
1965 Assemblies (short)
1965 Three
1967 I Even Met Happy Gypsies
1968 It Rains in My Village
1972 The Master and Margarita
1977 Group Portrait with Lady
1989 Migrations – The Most Glorious of Wars