Tataragić Elma
Tataragić Elma

Screenwriter, director and producer


Elma Tataragić (1976) is a scriptwriter, professor and festival programmer. She graduated Dramaturgy at Sarajevo Academy of Performing Arts and obtained her Master of Science degree and PhD in Film and Literature. She has been with Sarajevo Film Festival since it was founded in 1995, where she now works as selector for Competition Programs and CineLink Industry Days.

She co-wrote short film FIRST DEATH EXPERIENCE (2001) and wrote and produced short NORTH WENT MAD (2003), both directed by Aida Begić. She has produced and co-written the feature film SNOW (2008) also directed by A. Begić, shown in the Semaine de la critique at Cannes Film Festival 2008, where the film won the Grand Prix. The film has been shown at over 80 festivals and won over 30 international awards.

She has been teaching screenwriting at Sarajevo Academy of Performing Arts since 2002, now as a professor and Dean for International collaborations and scientific-art research. She has been awarded Best Teacher at the Academy of Performing arts in 2008, 2011 and 2019. She was also awarded with “Ivica Matić” Association of Filmmakers Award in 2008 and 2016. 
She is member of European Film Academy and has published two books on screenwriting and is also works as a script consultant.

In 2016 she has completed her short fiction film I REMEMBER, which was screened and awarded at numerous film festivals. The feature film WHEN THE DAY HAD NO NAME (2017) directed by Teona Mitevska which she has co-written premiered in Panorama Special at Berlinale 2017. GOD EXISTS, HER NAME IS PETRUNYA, written by Elma Tataragić and directed by Teona S. Mitevska, has premiered at Berlin Film Festival Competition in 2019, while the film STITCHES, directed by Serbian director Miroslav Terzić and written by Elma Tataragić has opened in Panorama section. Both films are currently touring film festivals and winning awards including the Best Screenplay Award for Elma at Las Palmas Film Festival in Spain. Her film THE HAPPIEST MAN IN THE WORLD directed by Teona Mitevska had it's world premiere in the Horizons (Orizzonti) competition at the 79th Venice International Film Festival and it is a North Macedonian candidate for the Oscar in the category of The Best International Film.

She’s currently developing new feature film, a new short experimental film and writing scripts for several TV series.

She was General Secretary of the Association of Filmmakers in Bosnia and Herzegovina in period 2001-2019 and in 2019 she is elected president of the Association. She is also head of all the programs in the Association of Filmmakers. 


 

Filmography

2022 - THE HAPPIEST MAN IN THE WORLD / NAJSREЌNIOT ČOVEK NA SVETOT - Feature film - (screenwriter)

2019 - STITCHES - Feature film - (screenwriter)

2016 - I REMEMBER - Short film - (director, screenwriter)

2011 - BODILY FUNCTION - Short film - (script consultant)

2010 - REVERSE - Short film - (script consultant)

2008 - SNOW - Feature film - (producer, screenwriter)

2003 - NORTH WENT MAD - Short film - (producer, screenwriter)

2001 - FIRST DEATH EXPERIENCE - Short film - (screenwriter)

2000 - PLUS MINUS - Short film - (director, screenwriter)

Other movies

2019 - GOD EXISTS AND HER NAME IS PETRUNIJA, feature (screenwriter) - Berlinale 2019 Competition

2018 - A GOOD DAY FOR WORK (scripz editor)

2017 - WHEN THE DAY HAD NO NAME, feature (screenwriter)

2013 - HOLIDAY AT THE SEASIDE, short (script editor)