I Even Met Happy Gypsies

{{Infobox film

| name = I Even Met Happy Gypsies

| image = Skupljaci perja Cover.jpg

| director = Aleksandar Petrović

| producer =

| writer = Aleksandar Petrović

| starring = Bekim Fehmiu
Olivera Vučo
Bata Živojinović
Gordana Jovanović
Mija Aleksić

| music = Aleksandar Petrović

| cinematography = Tomislav Pinter

| editing = Mirjana Mitić

| distributor =

| released = {{Film date|1967}}

| runtime = 82 minutes

| country = Yugoslavia

| language = Romani
Serbo-Croatian

}}

I Even Met Happy Gypsies ({{Lang-sh-Cyrl-Latn|Скупљачи перја|Skupljači perja|The Feather-Gatherers}}) is a 1967 Yugoslav film by Serbian director Aleksandar Petrović. The film is centered on Roma people's life in a village in northern Vojvodina, but it also deals with other themes such as love, ethnic and social relationships. Beside Bekim Fehmiu, Olivera Vučo, Bata Živojinović and Mija Aleksić, film features a cast of Roma actors speaking the Romani language. I Even Met Happy Gypsies is considered one of the best films of the Black Wave in Yugoslav cinema.{{citation needed|date=November 2011}}

Plot summary

The protagonist, Beli Bora Perjar, is a charming but mean-spirited gypsy, while his former girlfriend, the kafana singer Lenče, is submissive. Bora is in love with the younger Tisa, who is being offered in marriage by her step-father. The two get themselves in trouble and eventually have to flee. Tisa rejects her husband and she and Bora get married in the church. Tisa tries to get to Belgrade, while Bora stabs a man in a knife fight. They are both, therefore, exiled from their Roma camp, yet their adventures continue.

Cast

Bekim Fehmiu as Beli Bora Perjar
Olivera Vučo as Lenče
Bata Živojinović as Mirta
Gordana Jovanović as Tisa
Mija Aleksić as Pavle

Rest of cast listed alphabetically:

Severin Bijelić as Bigoted man
Stojan Dečermić as Hladnjača driver 1
Milivoje Đorđević as Sandor
Rahela Ferari as Igumanija
Etelka Filipovski as Bora's wife
Milorad Jovanović as Toni
Zoran Longinović as Islednik 1
Branislav-Ciga Milenković
Božidar Pavičević-Longa as Hladnjača driver 2
Velizar Petrović
Djordje Pura as Islednik 2
Nina Sajin
Milivoje Tomić as Romanian
Janez Vrhovec as judge

Reception

The film was the most popular film in Belgrade for the year with 400,000 admissions, compared to an average of 60,000.{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|date=October 11, 1967|page=27|title='Happy Gypsies' Tops Yugoslavia's Boxoffice But N.Y. Fest Nixed}}

Awards

At the 1967 Cannes Film Festival it was nominated for the Palme d'Or and won the Special Grand Prize of the Jury and the FIPRESCI Prize.{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/2800/year/1967.html |title=Festival de Cannes: I Even Met Happy Gypsies |access-date=2009-03-10|work=festival-cannes.com}}

The film was nominated for the 1967 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film (event in April 1968){{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1968 |title=The 40th Academy Awards (1968) Nominees and Winners |access-date=2011-11-12|work=oscars.org}} and for the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Bata Živojinović also won a Golden Arena award for Best Actor at the 1967 Pula Film Festival for his portrayal of Mirta.