Director Đorđe Kadijević, author of the 1973 television film 'Leptirica' which is considered the first and most terrifying horror film made in former Yugoslavia, has died at the age of 94, as reported by Index.hr, citing Slobodna Dalmacija.
Kadijević was born on 6 January 1933 in Šibenik, in the same street as Arsen Dedić. Trained as an art historian and visual critic, he made his feature film debut in 1967 with the war drama 'Praznik' (Holiday), starring Velimir 'Bata' Živojinović. Following the films 'Pohod' and 'Žarko', it was 'Leptirica' that established him as a pioneer of horror in the region.
In this film, he combined vampire and folk motifs, transforming a rural idyll into a space of fear: the girl played by Mirjana Nikolić becomes a vampire. The film is compared to the British classic 'The Wicker Man', released the same year.
In the genre, he later directed 'Djevičanska svirka', 'Zakletva' and 'Sveto mjesto', the latter considered by some audiences to be his best work. He also wrote the dramas 'Čovjek koji je pojeo vuka' and 'Karađorđeva smrt', both starring Aleksandar Berček, while his series 'Vuk Karadžić' won the Grand Prix for best European series at Rome and was included in the UNESCO heritage list.
The sequel to 'Leptirica', tentatively titled 'Kletva', was never realised by him. However, a remake is currently in preparation, directed by Karla Lulić, with Dea Marija Račanić in the lead role. Lulić previously stated to Slobodna Dalmacija that she had received Kadijević's blessing for the project, noting that she and the director 'recognised a similar sensibility towards the genre'.
