The film, directed by Aleksandar Saša Petrović, was made in 1967 and is considered one of the most significant films of the Yugoslav Black Wave and Yugoslav cinema in general. The story is based on the life of Roma in a village in northern Vojvodina, but it also touches on much more complex themes, such as love, inter-ethnic, and social relations.
It was the first film to address the position of Roma in society, revealing their way of life and featuring Roma characters speaking their own language. Most of the roles were played by actual Roma.
At the Cannes Film Festival in 1967, the film won the Grand Prix of the Jury and the FIPRESCI Award from the International Federation of Film Critics. The following year, in 1968, it was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
After Saša Petrović cast Bekim Fehmiu in the role of Beli Bora, Fehmiu prepared intensively by dyeing his hair with black shampoo, tanning, growing sideburns, and letting his pinky fingernail grow. He asked his colleague Pljaka Kostić to recite Romani poetry to him and shaped his character by following the verse: “Why should I live when I have no happiness, but again why should I die when I’m afraid of the grave?”
Many scenes were completely authentic, filmed without stunt doubles or staging. For example, in the famous scene, Bekim really slapped Olivera. Her swollen cheek, which she iced for days afterward, spoke for itself. When Fehmiu and Bata Živojinović fought with drawn knives in hand, the actors avoided serious injuries purely by luck. They first performed the fight in a pile of feathers with real knives, and then again under horse hooves.
I Even Met Happy Gypsies earned $500,000. Besides financial success, the film was a springboard for the careers of the lead actors—Olivera Vučo achieved great success with concerts at the Olympia in Paris, Bata Živojinović gained incredible fame, and Bekim attained the status of an international star.
