Nedeljko Dragić
Writing
Biography
Nedeljko Dragić is a Croatian director, animator, cartoonist and illustrator. Since 1953 he has been a cartoonist and had exhibitions and published a book called "Lexicon for Illiterate People" in 1966. In 1960 he began working as a designer and animator at Zagreb Film, contributing to the works of N. Kostelac, I. Vrbanić, B. Dovniković and others. Since 1965 he has become one of the most important representatives of the Zagreb School of Animation. His works rank among the most original among world animation. He is the creator of the award-winning films "Tamer of Wild Horses" (1966), "Perhaps Diogenes" (1968), "The Days Are Going" (1969), "Tup Tup" (1972), "The Diary" (1974), "Put k susjedu" (1982), "Pictures of Memories" (1989) and others, as well as a series of short films ("Per aspera ad astra", "Striptiz", 1969), of which he was the scriptwriter, cartoonist and animator. He developed a distinctive visual style in which animation grows from the caricatures with pronounced symbolic elements, and linking art and poetic elements usually varies the theme of the absurdity of man's fate in modern civilization. His films have been awarded at international festivals in Annecy, Oberhausen, Zagreb and elsewhere, and "Tup Tup" received an Academy Award nomination in early 1973. He wrote the screenplays of several films by other authors (e.g., "A Man Who Had to Sing", 1971, M. Blažeković), author of the comic book series "Tupko", and book illustrator). Since the beginning of the 1990s he has lived and worked in Germany. He was given the Vladimir Nazor Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2013.
Known For
Being a cartoonist and caricaturist, Dragić applied for a competition organised by Zagreb Film and so his succesful career as an animator started. However, his films remained strongly connected with his comic strips both in terms of style and narrative, and some of these are actually the animated version of his comics. Elegy, Dragić's debut film, for example, is based on his comic called Nostalgia, as he explains in an interview with Bosnian-Swedish theorist and animator Midhat Ajanović in his book "Nedeljko Dragić: The Man and the Line" (2014). Elegy is about a prisoner longing for the flower that caught his eye through the bars of his cell. The animation is quite static, a quality coming from his background in comics.
Elegy
A richly illustrated cartoon film that enlarges on man's capacity to foul his own nest, and to ignore it. Made by a joint team of Canadian and Yugoslav animation artists, the film transmits its warning with unflagging humor, imagination, movement and design. In between animated sequences Dr. Fred H. Knelman, Professor of Science and Human Affairs at Concordia University in Montréal, comments on the import of what is shown and on what lies in store if more responsibility is not taken on a global scale to conserve what is left of our vital resources and usable environment.
Man: The Polluter
Souvenirs, memories, nostalgia, alienation, the ephermal quality of life ...these are the subjects of this animated diary. The film is not made in the usual way (screenplay, storyboard) and was born at the moment when the author sat at his desk and began animating.
Diary
Short movie where a little old man trying to get up from the toilet. He gets a helping hand.
Per aspera ad astra
The quick tempo of life in polluted cities makes patients out of people. Neurosis is an everyday occurrence.
Tup Tup
Story about a man whose environment doesn't let him live his simple life.
Passing Days
Still in the delivery room, he started singing his song. And on he went his entire life. The song is not ugly, the voice is not unpleasant, but everything is constantly the same. He is trying to blend in, but it always ends in disapproval, kicking out, beating, harsh reaction. Nevertheless, he didn’t give up.
The Man Who Had to Sing
A story about the loneliness, alienation, fear and nervousness of modern man.
The Day I Quit Smoking
A short film about a man trying to walk through a door.
The Door
A tamer of horses discovers a large mechanical horse. A conflict develops when the horse tamer attempts to tame the horse and the horse attempts to destroy the man. Considers the relationship between man and technology.
Tamer of the Wild Horses
Animated short.
Striptease
Short animated film.
Cupido
One lonely person wanders an absurd world searching for happiness.
Diogenes Perhaps
A minifilm form the series "Weg zum Nachbarn", made by the awarded filmmakers in Oberhausen. Produced in 1969 and screened in 1970.
Neighbours
This short animation is the author's cynical reaction to the contemporary international political situation.
Way to Your Neighbour
With fast changing visuals and moods, an artist presents his family's twentieth-century story.