Bio
Ivana Todorovic
I’m a documentary filmmaker from Belgrade, Serbia with a passion for social change. My films are character driven and are informed by personal experiences of human instincts and modes of survival when dealing with trauma. As a shooter and director I spend a lot of time in the life of my characters and capture essences of their lives. This stylistically rigorous cinema verite journey takes the audience into the lives of those who have been pushed to the margins in mainstream media and society. Ideally, I would like my films to immerse the audience by humanizing worlds unknown to them, through the experience of the characters.Films have been shown in a number of US and European festivals, such as Traverse City Festival, Rotterdam, The Palm Springs International Shortfest etc and won acclaim in USA, Russia, Serbia, Italy, Canada
Film A HARLEM MOTHER is used in media campaigns against youth gun violence in New York and her films RAPRESENT and EVERYDAY LIFE OF ROMA CHILDREN FROM BLOCK 71 are often used as part of the educational curriculum in primary and high schools in Serbia.
My new film WHEN I WAS A BOY, I WAS A GIRL will premier at Berlinale Shorts 2013
Im a participant of the 2010 New York Foundation for the Arts Immigrant Artist Project . I hold a Graduate Certificate in Documentary Media studies from The New School, a Diploma from the Jean Roush ATELIERS VARAN Documentary Filmmaking Workshop in Belgrade,a Diploma in Peace studies from the one year alternative studies in Belgrade and BA in Ethonology and Anthropology from University of Belgrade.
Awards :
- AUDIENCE AWARD at Fear no Film, Utah Arts Film Festival for “A Harlem Mother”
- BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM PROFILE at the Mixed Messages Film Festival, New York for “A Harlem Mother”
- HONORABLE MENTION at Carolina Film And Video Film Festival in Greensboro, NC for “A Harlem Mother”
- GRAND PRIX award at the Videnie film Festival in Russia for “A Harlem mother”
- AUDIENCE BEST STORY FILM AWARD at FILM FOR PEACE Festival, Italy for “Rapresent”
- BEST NATIONAL AWARD at International Festival of Ethnological Film in Belgrade, Serbia for “Rapresent”
- BEST SHORT FILM AWARD at Human Rights Film Festival, Montreal for “Everyday Life of Roma Children from Block 71”
Major Screenings:
- Festival de Cannes at the Short Film Corner and American Pavilion, Emerging Filmmakers Showcase—screening of “A Harlem Mother”
- Traverse City, screening of “A Harlem Mother”
- Palm Springs Short Film Festival—screening of “A Harlem Mother”
- Rotterdam International Film Festival screening of “Rapresent”
- Rooftop Film Festival—screening of “A Harlem Mother”
- New York Woman in Film and Television at the Anthology Film Archive—screening of “A Harlem Mother”
- London International Documentary Festival (LIDF), London screening of “A Harlem Mother”
Festivals and Venues:
- International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam, screening of “Rapresent” and “Everyday Life of Roma Children from Block 71”
- Maysles Cinema, NY screening “A Harlem Mother,” organized by Beyond Bullets: Gun Violence in America
- Athena Film Festival, NY—screening of “A Harlem Mother”
- DCTV: A HARLEM MOTHER and BEYOND BULLETS shorts, NY
- Downtown Boca Film Festival, Florida screening of “A Harlem Mother”
- WILIFEST Film Festival in Williamsburg, NY screening of “A Harlem Mother”
- GIAA Film Festival, Anthology Film archive screening of “A Harlem Mother”
- 13th Annual Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival, NY screening of “A Harlem Mother”
- Harlem Parks Film Festival screening of “A Harlem Mother”
- Uno Port Art Films Festival, Japan screening of “A Harlem Mother”
- Fear no Film, Utah Arts Festival, Salk Lake City, UT screening of “A Harlem Mother”
- Centre de Cultura Contemporiana de Barcelona screening of “Rapresent” and “Everyday Life of Roma Children from Block 71”
- Antonio Film Festival, TX screening of “A Harlem Mother”
- Festival de Cine Documental, Benidorm, Spain screening of “A Harlem Mother”
- Tower Theatre Fresno Film Festival, Fresno, CA screening of “A Harlem Mother”
- Iowa City Documentary Film Festival screening of “A Harlem Mother”
- Woman in Film and Television in Vancouver, Canada screening of “A Harlem Mother”
- Anthology Film Archives, New Filmmakers series, New York screening of “A Harlem Mother”
- New Filmmakers at Sunset Gowers studio, Hollywood, CA screening of “A Harlem Mother”
- Davis Film Festival, Davis, CA screening of “A Harlem Mother”
- Carolina Film and Video Festival, Greensboro, NC screening of “A Harlem Mother”
- South Easter European Film Festival, LA screening of “Rapresent”
- NXNE Film @ Music Festival, Toronto screening of “Rapresent”
- International Woman’s Film Festival, Germany screening of “Rapresent”
- Centre of Visual Anthropology, Moscow screening of “Everyday Life of Roma Children from Block 71”
- Canary Wharf Film Festival, London screening of “Rapresent”
- THESS SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, Greece screening of “Rapresent”
- Gottingen Ethnographic Film Festival, Germany screening of “Rapresent”
- WordFilm Festival in Tartu, Estonia screening of “Rapresent”
- Kratki Metar Festival in Belgrade, Serbia screening of “Rapresent”
- Astra Festival in Sibiu, Rumania screening of “Rapresent”
- Kino Kriterion in Sarajevo, Bosnia screening of “Rapresent”
- Balkan Festival in Moscow, Russia screening of “Rapresent”
- Canary Wharf Film Festival, London screening of “Rapresent”
- Balkan Snapshots Festival, Amsterdam screening of “Rapresent”
- International Documentary Film Festival in Volda, Norway, screening of “Everyday Life of Roma Children from Block 71”
- DOCUPOLIS, International Documentary Film Festival, Barcelona,
- Milano Film Festival, Italy screening of “Everyday Life of Roma Children from Block 71”
- Royal Anthropological Institute International Festival of Ethnographic Film, UK screening of “Everyday Life of Roma Children from Block 71”
- New York City Roma Gypsy Film Festival screening of “Everyday Life of Roma Children from Block 71”
- Golden Wheel, Fourth Roma Film Festival in Skopje, Macedonia screening of “Everyday Life of Roma Children from Block 71”
- OFFAF, 19th International Film Festival in Skopje, Macedonia screening of “Everyday Life of Roma Children from Block 71”
- Viscult Film Festival at the International Festival of Visual Culture, Finland screening of “Everyday Life of Roma Children from Block 71”
- International Film Festival of Ethnological Film in Belgrade, Serbia screening of “Everyday Life of Roma Children from Block 71”
- Tartu Festival of Visual Culture in Tartu, Estonia screening of “Everyday Life of Roma Children from Block 71”
- Eyes and Lenses, International Ethnographic Film Festival in Warsaw, Poland screening of “Everyday Life of Roma Children from Block 71”
- CRONOGRAF, International Documentary Film Festival, Moldova screening of “Everyday Life of Roma Children from Block 71”
- Ohio Global Institute screening of “Everyday Life of Roma Children from Block 71”
- Terra Di Tutti, International Documentary Film Festival in Bologna, Italy screening of “Everyday Life of Roma Children from Block 71”
- Quebec International Ethnographic Film Festival, Canada screening of “Everyday Life of Roma Children from Block 71”
- IV Moscow International Visual Anthropology Film Festival, Russia screening of “Everyday Life of Roma Children from Block 71”
- European Association of Social Anthropologists’ Film Festival, Slovenia screening of “Everyday Life of Roma Children from Block 71”
- Platforma Video Festival in Athens, Greece screening of “Everyday Life of Roma Children from Block 71”
- Days of Ethnographic Film in Rovinj, Croatia screening of “Everyday Life of Roma Children from Block 71”
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