Dane Komljen is a Serbian-born filmmaker and director based in Berlin and Belgrade. He has made a number of critically acclaimed experimental films, working with non-actors and exploring themes of identity, memory, and history.
Komljen was born in Belgrade, Serbia, in 1984. He was exposed to art and culture at an early age, as his mother was a painter. He began making films and videos in his teenage years, and studied film directing at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade.
After graduating, Komljen moved to Berlin, where he began to work in the independent film world. His first feature film, All the Cities of the North (2016), was widely acclaimed, winning awards at the Berlinale, Sarajevo Film Festival, and other international festivals. The film follows two young men in a remote rural area of Montenegro, and explores identity and memory in a post-Yugoslav context.
Komljen’s follow-up feature, My Friend the Polish Girl (2019), was also critically acclaimed, and won awards at the Venice Film Festival and the London Film Festival. The film tells the story of a young Polish woman living in London, and is a meditation on the themes of displacement and belonging.
Komljen has also directed several short films, including Nowhere at Home (2009), which won the Grand Prize at the Sarajevo Film Festival, and That World (2012), which won Best Short Film at the Belgrade Documentary and Short Film Festival.
Komljen is known for his unique visual style, which combines documentary and fiction elements in an experimental way. His films often deal with personal stories, exploring themes of identity, memory, and belonging in a post-Yugoslav context. His work has been praised for its subtlety, visual beauty, and emotional depth.
Komljen has become a major figure in the European independent film scene, and his work has been widely acclaimed both in Serbia and abroad. He continues to work on new projects, exploring the themes of identity and memory in a globalized world.
