Branka Bešević Gajić 

Branka Bešević Gajić is a Serbian, Croatian and Montenegrin award winning film and TV director, drama and audio-visual artist, Doctor of Arts, creative producer and screenwriter. She is a member of the European Film Academy based in Berlin. She graduated from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade and holds a Master’s degree in Drama, and she was awarded a doctoral degree at the University of Arts in Belgrade. She devoted her artistic doctoral work to film direction and made a feature film on intimate partner violence. She is an active member of the cultural and artistic Community of Croats ‘Tin Ujević’ in Belgrade. She is a member of the choir of the Roman Catholic Church of St. Anthony of Padua in Belgrade. As a film director, she acquired the status of independent artist of the Association of Film Artists of Serbia. She achieved success as a film author in Croatia, Serbia, the entire region and around the world, where she received prestigious honours at international festivals for direction, production and screenplay. She debuted with the feature film ‘Lauš’, a film about one of the most talented Yugoslav actors, Žarko Laušević. Following the Belgrade premiere at the Sava Center, the film was widely distributed in cinemas in Croatia, Serbia and the region, after which the festivals in America, Australia, South Africa, Russia and China followed, winning awards for directing, artistic contribution and for the author’s courage.