Dragan Bjelogrlic was born on October 10 , 1963. After finishing primary and secondary school in Belgrade, he entered the Faculty of Dramatic Arts (FDU). His first acting role in front of the cameras was at the age of 15, as the character of Sava Jovanovic Sirogojno in the film "Bosko Buha " (1978).
After graduating from FDU in 1989 , he performed a series of roles that made him famous and recognized as one of the leading Serbian artists. He attracted a lot of public attention with the role of Slobodan Popadic in the cult classic series of the former Yugoslavia "A Better Life" (1987-1990). After that role, he was recognized in the TV series "Forgotten" ( 1990) and the films "Black Bomber" (1992), "Full Moon over Belgrade" (1993), "Pretty Village, Pretty Flame" (1996), "Wounds" (1998), etc.
So far, he has played in almost 70 films, about 30 TV series and dramas and 12 theater plays. At the beginning of 1994 , he founded the production company "COBRA FILM", which produced some of the most famous Serbian theater plays, films and TV series.
Since 1995 , Bjelogrlic devoted himself to production. The first film he produced was "Pretty Village, Pretty Flame". So far, his company has produced 10 feature films and 5 TV series.
He continued his artistic ambitions as a director. He started directing in 2009 and achieved great success directing his debut feature film and TV series "Montevideo: Taste of a Dream". The film was chosen as the official Serbian submission for the Academy Awards. It has been shown at many international festivals such as Moscow, Warsaw, Sao Paulo, Jakarta, etc. It has won many awards, including Audience Awards and Grand Prix, as well as Best Director and Best Film awards at the annual awards of the Serbian association "FIPRESCI".
With the first part and the sequel "See you in Montevideo!", he brought more than 1.100.000 viewers back to cinemas, which makes him the most successful director in the Balkans since 2010 . The sequel was also selected as the official Serbian submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
In 2014, he directed the musical-film spectacle "The Story of Finger Flicks and the Sky", which was written by Vladimir Kecmanovic, and the music was composed by Robert Pešut Manjifiko. The ceremony was held on October 19 as the central celebration of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade in World War II.
Football club Partizan from Belgrade celebrated its 70th anniversary in a magnificent way . The central ceremony was held at the National Theater in Belgrade, where the players, fans, management, legends and friends of the club were treated to a musical and stage show entitled "We remember everything well!" directed by Dragan Bjelogrlic, based on the script by Bjelogrlic and Nenad Jankovic (Dr. Nele Karajlic). The Choir of the National Theater and the band of the JNA Group also took part in the spectacle.
His third film, "Toma", had more than 1.200.000 viewers and became the most watched film in the modern cinematographic history of Serbia. For this success, he won the Plaque of the Yugoslav Cinematheque. The 27th Sarajevo Film Festival 2021 closed with the film "Toma " which was it’s world premiere .
His fourth film "Guardians of the Formula (Chain Reaction )" , a major international co-production project, premiered at the Locarno Film Festival in 2023 , where it won 2 awards. After that, the film won over 30 international awards, making it the most awarded Serbian feature film in the 21st century so far.
Over the course of a decade, he set new standards for TV programs with his successful TV series "Black Sun" (2017). Third season will be shown in 2026. It is the first regional series to be streamed on the "Amazon Prime" platform. It is also listed in the TOP 250 best series of all time on IMDb, with a rating of 8.8 .
As a creator, he developed five TV series: "The storks will return", "Montevideo", "Black Sun", "Branded in the Racket " and "Toma".
He won more than 15 important film awards at domestic festivals, as well as 40 international awards.
In 2016, the new cinema and theater hall of the renovated cultural center in the municipality of Opovo (Bjelogrlic's birthplace) was named after him - "Dragan Bjelogrlic Stage". During the "Culture Week" event, two murals were painted on the facade of the cultural center with the characters of Bjelogrlic's famous roles from movies. In this way, the municipality thanked the actor and director for the promotion and development of the municipality, where his film studio "Baranda" is located.
Dragan Bjeloglic also started the master class "TV Series: Creative Process " at the Faculty of Media and Communications of Singidunum University in Belgrade, where he is a mentor.
He is married to Maja Bjelogrlic, with whom he has a daughter, Mia, and a son, Aleksej.
(as director):
2010 – MONTEVIDE: TASTE OF A DREAM!
2014 – SEE YOU IN MONTEVIDEO!
2012-2014 - MONTEVIDEO (TV SERIES) 3 seasons
2017 – BLACK SUN (TV SERIES) season 1
2019 – BLACK SUN (TV SERIES) season 2
2021 - TOMA
2023 - TOMA (TV SERIES) season 1
2023 - GUARDIANS OF THE FORMULA
2026 – BLACK SUN (TV SERIES) season 3
(as producer):
1996 – PRETTY VILLAGE, PRETTY FLAME
1998 - WOUNDS
2000 - WAR LIVE
2003 – A SMALL WORLD
2005 - IVKO'S FEAST
2005 – IVKO’S FEAST (TV series) season 1
2007 – STORKS WILL RETURN (TV series) season 1
2009 - STORKS IN THE FOG ( TV movie) 2 parts
2017-2026 – BLACK SUN (TV series) 3 seasons
2018-2020 - BRANDED IN THE RACKET (TV series) 2 seasons
2021 - TOMA
2023 - TOMA (TV series) season 1
2023 - GUARDIANS OF THE FORMULA
(as writer/co-writer):
2000 - WAR LIVE
2007 – STORKS WILL RETURN (TV series) season 1
2009 - STORKS IN THE FOG ( TV movie) 2 parts
2010 – MONTEVIDEO: TASTE OF A DREAM
2014 – SEE YOU IN MONTEVIDEO!
2017-2026 – BLACK SUN (TV series) 3 seasons
2018-2020 - BRANDED IN THE RACKET (TV series) 2 seasons
2021 - TOMA
2023 - TOMA (TV series) season 1
2023 - GUARDIANS OF THE FORMULA
- Award for the best acting couple (with Vesna Trivalic) at the Nis film meetings festival for the series "A Better Life" in 1991 .
- Award for the best acting couple (with Anica Dobra) at the festival of Nis film meetings for the film "Black bomber" in 1993 .
- Grand Prix for the best actor in the film "Pretty Village, Pretty Flame" at the Film Festival in Nis, 1996.
- Golden Mimosa, for the best actor in the film "Pretty Village, Pretty Flame" at the Montenegro Film Festival in Herceg Novi, 1996.
- Awards of the Yugoslav Academy of Film Arts - Golden Prism: Lead Male Role, Best Production for the film "Pretty Village, Pretty Flame", 1996
- Award of the Statue of Liberty for the Best Actor for the film "Wounds" at the Sofest Film Festival in Sopot, 1998.
- Award for the best acting couple (with Branka Katic) at the Nis film meetings festival for the film "Wounds" in 1998 .
- Grand Prix for the best actor in the film "War Live" at the festival Nis filmski susreti, 2001.
- Golden mimosa, for the best actor in the film "War Live" at the Film Festival in Herceg Novi, 2001.
- "Dobrica Jovanovic Award” for the Best Supporting Actor for the film "Ivko’s Feast" at the Sofest Film Festival in Sopot, 2006.
- "Milan Zmukic Award " for outstanding contribution to the promotion of the festival at the Montenegro Film Festival in Herceg Novi, 2006.
- Annual award of FIPRESCI Serbia for the best film and the best director for "Montevideo: Taste of a dream!", 2010.
- Audience Award at the Moscow International Film Festival for the film " Montevideo: Taste of a dream", in 2011
- Special Jury Award at the Film Festival in Pula, Croatia, for the film "Montevideo: Taste of a dream!", 2011.
- Charter for the outstanding male role in the film "Dr Ray and the Devils", at the festival Nis filmski susreti, 2012.
- FEDIS (Festival of Drama and Series) - Golden Antenna Award for the most popular series and best director for "Montevideo: Taste of a dream!" (S01), 2012
- FEDIS (Festival of Drama and Series) - Award for Best Series and Best Screenplay for "On the Road to Montevideo" (S02), 2013.
- FEDIS (Festival of drama and series) - Award for the best series and the best screenplay for "See you in Montevideo!" (S03), 2014
- Karic Brothers award for outstanding contribution to film art, in the field of culture and art, 2014.
- FEDIS (Festival of drama and series) - Awards for the best direction and the most watched series for "Black Sun" (S01), 2018.
- Award of the City of Belgrade for film and radio-television creativity, for the TV series "Black Sun", 2018.
- Award for contribution to European cinematography at the 10th European and Mediterranean Film Festival in Piran, 2020.
- FEDIS (Festival of Drama and Series) - Award for the best leading actor for his role in the series "Tycoon" (S01), 2020.
- Honorary award "Golden Apple" of the Film Festival in Kranj, Slovenia, for the greatest artistic contribution in the audiovisual field, 2021.
- Nominated for best series creator for "Black Sun " (S02) at the Sarajevo Film Festival, 2021.
- Europa Prima Award for Contribution to European Cinema at the Southeast European Film Festival (SEE) in Paris, 2022.
- Nominated for the best leading actor in the drama series "Bad Blood" at the Sarajevo Film Festival, 2022.
- "Variety Piazza Grand Award " and "Pardo Verde Ricola Award" at the Locarno Film Festival for the film "Guardians of the Formula" in 2023 .
- Audience Award of the Sarajevo Film Festival for the film "Guardians of the Formula", 2023.
- Award for Best Film at the Southeast European Film Festival in Los Angeles (SEEFF, LA) for the film "Guardians of the Formula", 2024.
- Three awards for the best director at the Southeast European Film Festival in Paris (European, American, youth juries) (SEE) for the film "Guardians of the Formula", 2024.
- FEDIS (Festival of Drama and Series) - Award for the best creator for the TV mini-series "Toma", 2024.
- He was one of the lecturers at the Ponda Lopud 2025 film festival, among whom were Sean Baker, Daniel Minahan, Peter Spears, Rajko Grlic, Suzana Peric and others.
- He had a masterclass with film students from the region at the 10th Brac Film Festival (BFF) in Croatia
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