Jovan Todorovic
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Jovan Branislav Todorovic is a Serbian American born artist and filmmaker based in New York. He works in film, photography, and music. He has directed The Belgrade Phantom, and short films Juvenile and You're Dead, America.
Early life and education[edit]
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Jovan Todorovic was born on October 13, 1979, in Belgrade, Serbia and grew up with his parents Marija and Branislav Todorovic, both mechanical engineers and university professors. His grandmother Natalija Đukić was a concert pianist, his uncle Nikola Todorović a painter and his other uncle Đorđe Todorović a singer.
He grew up moving between the United States and Serbia as his parents taught in Universities in the United States and Serbia. While attending West Middle School in Lawrence, Kansas in 1993, Todorovic was introduced to analogue photography.
After high school in 1998, he attended Columbia College in Chicago and studied film for one year. In 1999 after the NATO bombing of Serbia, Todorovic moved back to Serbia and transferred to the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade where he continued studying Film and TV directing and earned an MFA in Film and TV Directing.
Career[edit]
During his freshman year at Columbia College Chicago, Todorovic met Chad Anderson, vocalist and guitarist of The Strike, and made a music video for their track "Shots Heard Around The World."
Todorovic co-produced, wrote and directed his graduation project, the feature film, The Belgrade Phantom. The film is a Serbian, Hungarian and Bulgarian co-production and was funded through Eurimages and the Jan Vrijman Film Fund. The film revolves around a mysterious driver managing to constantly escape police in a stolen car in post-war Yugoslavia. It premiered at the IDFA Festival in Amsterdam in 2009[1][2] and won the Silver Eye award at the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival 2009, the award for the Best Documentary Film at the Gotham Screen Film Festival in New York 2009, and the FIPRESCI award at Fipresci Serbia in 2010. In 2011 The Belgrade Phantom was shown in the Pompidou as part of the Hors Pistes exhibition in 2011.
Todorovic is the co-founder and managing director of EMOTE films along with Bogdan Petkovic.
In New York City in 2009, Todorovic met Kool A.D. vocalist of Boy Crisis. As part of the directing collective ESNAF, Todorovic directed the music video for the track called "L'Homme". It was released in 2009 and selected as a Vimeo Staff Pick. He also directed a video for Kool A.D. and his track Pleasance. Further music videos include Jessie Ware "Spotlight", Major Lazer ft. Anitta "Make It Hot," Haleek Maul "Money God," Vaults "Midnight River," Astronomyy "Not Into U," "When I'm With You," "All I Need," Sohn "Hard Liquor,"[3][4] Okay Kaya "Durer," and Rosie Lowe "Birdsong."
In 2013 in New York, Todorovic began working as a fashion photographer represented by SEE management. His photography was published in the print and online magazines Interview, Oyster, Flaunt, Teeth, and Grey Magazine. He photographed the cover for Katy Perry's perfume "Indi," campaigns for H&M, and musicians Bernard Jabs, Disclosure, Marian Hill.
Todorovic spent 2015 living on and off inside the Juvenile Detention Center in the South of Serbia filming the daily life of youth inside the facility. The film Juvenile, which premiered on Dazed, led Todorovic to continue filming and make the feature-length film Juvenile in 2022. In 2018 as part of Motionpoems and under the theme "Dear Mr. President" Todorovic made the short film You're Dead, America, illustrating the poem with the same name written by Danez Smith.
Todorovic's commercial work has had themes of dealing with social and human issues and topics. His campaign for Adidas "See My Creativity" dealt with recognizing women in sports. The Diesel campaign "Hate Couture," featuring Nicki Minaj, Gucci Mane and Bella Thorne won four Cannes Lions Awards in 2019 and dealt with online hate and bullying. His commercial for Nike Japan in 2020. "You Can't Stop the Future" discussed race and prejudice in Japan.[5] The commercial for Veteran Affairs entitled "Boil" aims to help prevent suicide amongst US veterans.
While in Japan in 2020, Todorovic met Yurina Goto, a dancer from Fukuoka with whom he made a music video for the Japanese musician Vaundy and his track "Fukakouryoku." The music video, which features hand drawn animations by Marija Knezevic and Mihailo Prostran, was named a Vimeo Staff Pick and featured as part of the exhibition at the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site at the Völklingen Ironworks and subsequent publication "The World of Music Video."
Represented commercially by Anonymous Content, an entertainment company based in Los Angeles.[6] Todorovic is a member of the Directors Guild of America.[7] Todorovic resides between Brooklyn, NY and Belgrade, Serbia.
Filmography[edit]
Director[edit]
- 2020 Jessie Ware: Spotlight (music video)[8][9]
- 2019 Major Lazer & Anitta: Make It Hot (music video)[10]
- 2018 Adidas: See My Creativity (commercial)[11]
- 2018 JennAir: Bound by Nothing
- 2018 Rosie Lowe: Birdsong (music video)
- 2017 You're Dead, America[12]
- 2017 Synthetic Overture
- 2016 Okay Kaya: Durer (music video)[13]
- 2016 Juvenile[14]
- 2009 The Belgrade Phantom
- 2005 Drzava izlaza
- 2003 The Next Letter
- 2002 Hu - Covek kao armija (Short)
- 2001 Gandor: The Hunt for the Nirdal
- 2000 Istorija moje bolesti
References[edit]
- ^ www.oberon.nl, Oberon Amsterdam. "The Belgrade Phantom (2009) - Jovan Todorovic". IDFA.
- ^ Mancab, Geoffrey. "Wide Management embraces The Belgrade Phantom". Screen International.
- ^ Bather, Luke (2017-01-06). "SOHN 'Hard Liquor' by Jovan | Videos". Promonewstv. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
- ^ "Sohn – "Hard Liquor" Video". Stereogum. 4 January 2017.
- ^ "'You Can't Stop Sport' in This Nike Japan Film Tackling Racial Discrimination". LBBOnline.
- ^ "Anonymous Content Signs Director Jovan Todorovic For Spots, Music Videos". SHOOTonline.
- ^ "Membership Report - April 2018 -". Directors Guild of America.
- ^ Cinquemani, Sal (28 February 2020). "Jessie Ware Returns to the "Spotlight" with New Single and Album". Slant Magazine.
- ^ "The 20 Best Music Videos of 2020". Slant Magazine. 21 December 2020.
- ^ Shaffer, Claire (26 June 2019). "Major Lazer, Anitta Throw Summer Bash in 'Make It Hot' Video". Rolling Stone.
- ^ "Women athletes describe working hard as their version of creativity in Adidas' latest film". The Drum.
- ^ "You're Dead America". Nowness.
- ^ "Okay Kaya Comforts Support Group in New Music Video". V Magazine.[dead link]
- ^ "Intervju petkom - Stefan Đorđević: "Kada vidiš slobodu u kavezu, to te polomi"". BBC News (in Serbian (Latin script)).