SOJA JOVANOVIĆ

DIRECTING

Sofija "Soja" Jovanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Соја Јовановић, pronounced [sɔ̌fija sɔ̌ːja jɔv̞ǎːnɔv̞it͡ɕ]; 1 February 1922 – 22 April 2002) was the first Serbian and Yugoslav female film director, noted for her work in theater, TV and film productions. After studying at the Theater Department of the Belgrade Music Academy, her first success was the stage production of Branislav Nušić's play A Suspicious Character (Serbian: Sumnjivo lice) in 1948, for which she was awarded at the Festival of Academy Theaters of Yugoslavia.

Apart from theater productions, she also directed a number of films, mostly based on comedies written by Branislav Nušić, Jovan Sterija Popović, Stevan Sremac and Branko Ćopić. Her first film was A Suspicious Character in 1954 which she co-directed with Predrag Dinulović.