Resident Fellows

Andrija Dimitrijevic || Fall 2008

Scholar, filmmaker and editor, Andrija Dimitrijevic is Vice Dean and Full Professor of Film Studies at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, Serbia. An expert in film editing, he has edited over 30 fiction, documentary and experimental films, both for TV and cinema. He has also directed over 15 films and has produced and supervised the film productions of over 60 film students. Mr. Dimitrijevic is an accomplished scholar of film studies and has published widely. He is currently finishing a book titled The Art of Stereotypes, clichés, and Conventions in the Movies.

Public Events

While at Berkeley, Mr. Dimitrijevic screened a number of his films at the Townsend Center during a lecture entitled “Film Kinesthesia.” Mr. Dimitrijevic asserted that most existing motion pictures do not represent either a prototype or an exclusive specimen of a creative use of film inventions and technology, but only the use of film instruments for the registration of the process itself. He defined kinesthesia as a specifically sensual sensation of the unique phenomenon of movement in film, representing a feeling of movement within us caused by the sensations from the screen. This is a psychological-motor reaction of our bodies caused by the movements on the screen. It is reflected in the neuromuscular reaction of body movements, as well as on the visceral one, i.e. the changes in the operation of our internal organs such as the accelerated pulse, convulsion of the stomach muscles, sweating, heart arrhythmia, the feeling of nausea, vomiting, and so on. Mr. Dimitrijevic claimed that movies can bring back the aesthetic essence of film to the sensual, kinesthetic organization of movement by means of editing.

Films included in the screening:

1. "Smokers Have a Good Heart," Exp., 1997. Produced by Fiks Fokus & RTB, Belgrade. Subversive filmic dance with smokers and smoke. 6 min., 52 sec.
2. "21st Century," Doc., 2003. Produced by Alternativna TV, Banja Luka. This is story about traditional rural life in the next millennium where the men continuously discuss expectations, while the women work hard. Award Golden Beggar, 9th International Festival of Local Television Broadcasters "The Golden Beggar," 2004. Kosice. 9 min., 15 sec.
3. "Kolosej," Exp., 2000. Produced by Triglav film, Ljubljana. A subversive short survey across the history of film with stereotypical usage of forms found in Lars von Trier’s film, Europa, with the aim that the auditory track installs in new complex movie experience. 7 min.,18 sec.
4. "Full Time Job," Doc., 2001. Produced by Alternativna TV, Banja Luka. This is a view on life observing one family of refugees, a mother with 3 daughters, who still strive with great effort in the Balkans, years after the war. 10 min., 30 sec.
5. "The life of chess," Exp., 1999. Produced by Fiks Fokus, Belgrade. A metaphor about war. 4 min., 20 sec.
6. "Amigo," Doc., 2003. Produced by Academic Film Center, Belgrade & Kino Society Tolmin. What happens to a secret agent after the crumbling of the state? 36 min.