Boris Miljković

Boris Miljković (Cyrillic: Борис Миљковић) (born 3 April 1956 in Zagreb, Croatia, FPR Yugoslavia), is a prolific Serbian artist of many talents - TV and theatre director, video artist, creative director in advertising, writer and a lecturer at the Belgrade University of Arts. He resides in Belgrade, Serbia. He is also the art director at RTS, Serbia's public television broadcaster.

Miljković first studied art history at the University of Belgrade's Faculty of Philosophy before transferring to Faculty of Dramatic Arts (FDU) where he eventually graduated at the Department of TV and Film Directing. Together with Branimir Dimitrijević he became a part of the directing tandem Boris and Tucko that authored many TV programs and films in the 1980s, including "Niko kao ja" (Nobody Like Me), "Rokenroler" (Rockenroller), "Ruski umetnički eksperiment" (The Russian Artistic Experiment) and "Šumanović - Komedija umetnika" ("Šumanović - A Comedy of an Artist"). The latter two video dramas were awarded at the prestigious Festival de Télévision in Monte Carlo and are a part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade. Their TV engagement is considered to be an integral part of the early '80s new wave movement in ex-Yugoslavia (see: New Wave in Yugoslavia). Miljković has also directed a countless number of TV commercials and music videos.

At the beginning of the 1990s when the Balkan conflict broke out Miljković moved to Cairo, Egypt, where he spent five years working as an advertising director for Saatchi and Saatchi for the Middle East. Upon his return to Belgrade, he continued with the post for the Balkan region, but was later headhunted by rival McCann Erickson. He now works as a freelance creative director and consultant in advertising.

Miljković has contributed to the development of theatrical art in a capacity as a director and a creative stage manager. He directed "Nevjesta od vjetra" (The Bride of the Wind) (2003) at Belgrade's National Theatre and Stravinsky's "Soldier's Tale" ("Prica o vojniku") (2005) at Atelje 212. He was also a creative director of a number of theatre plays at the Yugoslav Drama Theatre, such as: "Dog Waltz" ("Pseci valcer") (2004) - for which he received Set Design Biennale Award for creative direction, "Locust" ("Skakavci") (2005) and "Barbelo, of Dogs and Children" ("Barbelo, o psima i deci") (2007), all directed by Dejan Mijač.

Miljkovic was appointed as the Arts Director of the 53rd edition of Eurovision Song Contest 2008, the biggest TV show in the world, held in Belgrade, Serbia. The theme of Eurovision 2008 was based around the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_2008 "Confluence of Sound"] . It is symbolic as Belgrade lies on the Sava and Danube rivers and is the place where the two European rivers meet. "Confluence of Sound" also played a key role in the production of the postcards, the short introduction videos before each song and during the show. Boris commented: "With this theme, we chose a more emotional approach, reaching out to the senses, instead of the traditional touristic, commercial approach". The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) recognised Miljkovic's originality and voted his team's work the best ever done for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Books

In recent years Miljković has become a fixture on the Serbian literary scene with a number of books all published by Geopoetika, Belgrade:

* "Čaj na Zamaleku" (Tea at Zamalek) (2002), a collection of short stories, which won him a prestigious Serbian literary award Isidora Sekulić,
* "Fabrika hartije" (Paper Factory) (2003), a collection of short stories,
* "Uspavanka za Lalu" (A Lullaby for Lala) (2004), a novel,
* "Poljupci, sećanja i razgovori" (Kisses, Memories and Conversations) (2006), a novel with didascalic notes.

Awards for work in Adverstising 1982-2004

*Clio Awards
*MTV Video Music Awards
*Epica D'Or
*Golden Drum Award, Portoroz, Slovenia
*Grand Prix Golden Rose of Montreux
*Eurobest, London
*New York Festival

Interviews

* [http://www.vreme.com/cms/view.php?id=412473 Vreme Magazine] (in Serbian)
* [http://arhiva.glas-javnosti.co.yu/arhiva/2004/04/06/srpski/K04040501.shtml Glas Javnosti Newspaper] (in Serbian)
* [http://www.b92.net/kultura_old/index.php?view=36&did=7185&plim=10 Radio B92] (in Serbian)
* [http://www.politika.co.yu/detaljno_arhiva.php?nid=17245&y=2007&m=1&d=16 Politika Newspaper] (in Serbian)

External links

* [http://www.geopoetika.com Geopoetika]
* [http://www.jdp.co.yu Jugoslovensko Dramsko Pozoriste, JDP]
* [http://www.narodnopozoriste.co.yu Narodno Pozoriste]