Bozidar Nikolic, Yugoslav director who first starred Brad Pitt, dies at 79

In a career spanning more than four decades Nikolic worked on some of the best known and best loved films ever to be produced in former Yugoslavia, such as the comedies Balkan Spy (1984; co-directed with Dusan Kovacevic) or Three Tickets to Hollywood (1993). As cinematographer he collaborated with famed directors such as Lordan Zafranovic, Zivko Nikolic, Vatroslav Mimica, Milan Jelic, Vlasta Radovanovic and Miso Radivojevic and made a number of award-winning Yugoslav films such The Fall of Italy (1981), The Marathon Family (1984), and Silent Gunpowder (1990).

Born in Niksic, Montenegro, in 1942, Nikolic mastered the craft of cinematography during the 1960s and 1970s as a television cameraman working for Belgrade Radio-Television (RTB).

He also directed the 1988 romantic drama The Dark Side of the Sun, which was shot as an American co-production with Yugoslavia and Canada. It was the first leading role for the then unknown Brad Pitt, and also featured Cheryl Polak, Gal Boyd, Milena Dravic, and Sonja Savic.

Nikolic later recounted in interviews how although 400 actors had auditioned for the role in the film, he immediately had no doubt that Pitt was the perfect fit for the role of a young American suffering from an incurable disease looking for healing in rural Yugoslavia.