Svetozar Botorić (Serbian Cyrillic: Светозар Ð'оторић;
1857â€"1916) was a Serbian entrepreneur and film producer. He was the
owner of Serbia's first movie theatre, the Paris Cinema, located
inside the eponymous Hotel Paris, at Belgrade's Terazije Square, which
opened in December 1908. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Botorić
was convinced that film could be turned into a profitable endeavour.
In 1909, he signed a contract with the French cinematographic firm
Pathé, becoming their representative in Serbia and Bulgaria. In this
capacity, he held exclusive Balkan premieres of Pathé's films in his
hotel. Botorić also regularly produced newsreels about local events
on Pathé's behalf, with the firm providing filming equipment and a
cameraman (Louis de Beéry), and Botorić giving them a share of his
admission profits. In 1911, Botorić teamed up with the prominent
stage actor Ilija Stanojević to establish the Union for the
Production of Serbian Films (Serbian: Udruženje za snimanje srpskih
filmova).In 1911, Botorić produced The Life and Deeds of the Immortal
Leader KaraÄ'orÄ'e, often referred to simply as KaraÄ'orÄ'e, Serbia's
first feature film. The film was successful domestically, but failed
to find a distributor abroad. The same fate befell Botorić's other
productions. After several further unsuccessful attempts at getting
international distribution for his films, Botorić left the film
industry altogether. Commercial film production came to a virtual halt
following the outbreak of World War I. During the Austro-Hungarian,
German and Bulgarian invasion of Serbia in late 1915, Botorić was
taken prisoner, and died in an Austro-Hungarian internment camp the
following year. KaraÄ'orÄ'e was considered lost for much of the 20th
century, but was rediscovered in Vienna in July 2003.
1857â€"1916) was a Serbian entrepreneur and film producer. He was the
owner of Serbia's first movie theatre, the Paris Cinema, located
inside the eponymous Hotel Paris, at Belgrade's Terazije Square, which
opened in December 1908. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Botorić
was convinced that film could be turned into a profitable endeavour.
In 1909, he signed a contract with the French cinematographic firm
Pathé, becoming their representative in Serbia and Bulgaria. In this
capacity, he held exclusive Balkan premieres of Pathé's films in his
hotel. Botorić also regularly produced newsreels about local events
on Pathé's behalf, with the firm providing filming equipment and a
cameraman (Louis de Beéry), and Botorić giving them a share of his
admission profits. In 1911, Botorić teamed up with the prominent
stage actor Ilija Stanojević to establish the Union for the
Production of Serbian Films (Serbian: Udruženje za snimanje srpskih
filmova).In 1911, Botorić produced The Life and Deeds of the Immortal
Leader KaraÄ'orÄ'e, often referred to simply as KaraÄ'orÄ'e, Serbia's
first feature film. The film was successful domestically, but failed
to find a distributor abroad. The same fate befell Botorić's other
productions. After several further unsuccessful attempts at getting
international distribution for his films, Botorić left the film
industry altogether. Commercial film production came to a virtual halt
following the outbreak of World War I. During the Austro-Hungarian,
German and Bulgarian invasion of Serbia in late 1915, Botorić was
taken prisoner, and died in an Austro-Hungarian internment camp the
following year. KaraÄ'orÄ'e was considered lost for much of the 20th
century, but was rediscovered in Vienna in July 2003.
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