Biography
B. R. Tatalovic, also known as Bruno Tatalovic, is a Serbian-American filmmaker and media educator born in 1966 in Belgrade, Serbia (formerly Yugoslavia). After high school, he worked as a milling machine operator while collecting VHS tapes and running an underground video store. In 1988, following his mandatory Yugoslav military service, he relocated to the United States to live with Serbian immigrant relatives in Ohio and pursue permanent residency. Without a college education, Tatalovic held various blue-collar jobs for years, including machinist, union steelworker, carpenter, and housing maintenance worker. From 1995 to 2005, he took evening classes for working adults, earning creative arts degrees at Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C®) and Cleveland State University (CSU). Concurrently, he completed filmmaking workshops with Robert C. Banks, Stephen R. Campanella, and the "2-Day Film School" by Dov Simens. While studying visual communication at CSU, he created his debut films on 16mm and DV formats, notably the thesis film The Bad Guy Speaks (2005), a short thriller-noir co-written with Dennis Goldberg. After its premiere in Cleveland, the film was invited to screen at "Nasi u Svetu," a showcase of Serbian diaspora filmmakers, during the 2006 Belgrade/Martovski DSFF, marking his first public exhibition in Serbia.
In 2006, Tatalovic established Belgrade & Cleveland Media Group, a one-person micro-studio for video and film production. One of his initial projects was producing a North American concert tour featuring prominent musicians from former Yugoslavia, including Zeljko Bebek, Alen Islamovic, Mladen-Tifa Vojicic, Srdjan 'Gile' Gojkovic, and Vladimir Divljan. Employing a small crew and a "run-and-gun" cinéma vérité style, he served as producer, cameraman, director, and editor to capture live concerts and behind-the-scenes footage, resulting in his first live concert DVDs and the documentary feature B.A.T.: Balkan Rock Nostalgia (2008). That same year, he began teaching videography for court reporting at a local technical college. In 2007, Tatalovic was interviewed by the American Film Institute (AFI) in Hollywood as one of the top 50 applicants for their prestigious MFA program in film producing. Although he did not become an AFI fellow, he enrolled at Chapman University's Dodge Conservatory of Film, studying under mentors like Alexandra Rose and David S. Ward, both acclaimed members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS). Between 2007 and 2009, while living and studying in California, he worked on numerous film projects in 16mm, 35mm, and DV formats, collaborating with international filmmakers such as Darryl Wharton-Rigby, Ammar Rasool, Mian Adnan Ahmad, Cecil Moller, Jonada Jashari, Nick Corporon, Prarthana Mohan, and Daniel D'Alimonte. For his master's thesis, he produced the award-winning short comedy Fiasco (2009), directed by Nadia Hamzeh and starring Navid Negahban, which earned a nomination from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation (ATAS "EmmyFoundation") and several festival awards. Simultaneously, he interned at Sony Pictures Entertainment, assisting in marketing for major Hollywood releases.
In 2009, Tatalovic accepted a full-time faculty position teaching creative arts in Ohio, achieving tenure at Cuyahoga Community College in 2014 and receiving the Indie Filmmakers Hall of Fame Award for Teaching at the International Indie Gathering Convention in 2016. Alongside his academic career, he continued producing independent films. In 2011, he connected with new writing partner Robert Graziosi via an online ad. Their spec script Dying 2 Meet U (2012) entered preproduction and, despite limited funding and resources, was completed and released in 2012. The micro-budget satirical comedy, featuring Ohio character actor Rick Montgomery Jr., screened at Scare-a-Con and the Indie Gathering International Film Festival. In 2014, Tatalovic began preproduction on another spec feature, Lux in Tenebris (2017), a complex socio-cultural urban drama about contemporary America co-produced with Alex Russo and Deborah Ochwat. This crowdfunded and self-financed micro ULB production was filmed at multiple locations with a diverse cast, including an appearance by Oscar® nominee Eric Roberts. The film was released three years later on Amazon Prime streaming and VOD.
Tatalovic's first screen acting dates back to the late 1970s, appearing as an extra in the Serbian children's series Babino unuce (1976). Since 2004, he has acted in numerous U.S. productions ranging from background roles in blockbusters to lead and supporting roles in underground, independent, and SAG-AFTRA projects, sharing scenes with actors like Mary Faktor, Stephen Dorff, and Terry Kiser. Beyond acting, he has contributed in various creative capacities on student films and independent projects, collaborating with award-winning visual artists such as Bryant Anderson, Chris Hlywiak, Kurt Broz, James Neyman, Scott E. Brosius, Donn R. Nottage, Robert Swanson, Johnny Chechitelli, D.C. Evans, Andrew Numbers, Nick Fiorella, Mikhail Tot, Johnny K. Wu, and Peach Martine.
His cine-artwork has been exhibited widely across the U.S. and screened at festivals in Southeast Europe, including the Croatian One-Minute Film Festival, Serbia's Martovski DSFF, Bistre Reke SFF, Mister Vorky International Festival of Cinema Art, and Jahorina Film Festival in Bosnia. His honors include awards for producing, directing, editing, and acting at film festivals, recognitions from the State of Ohio for small business startups presented by Senator Mike DeWine and Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, the College Television Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation, and multiple screenwriting contest accolades. His work has been featured at over 100 film festivals and conventions, including media exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA Cleveland, 2017) and the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA, 2005). In 2018, he founded the Kinodrome Film Festival, an annual event showcasing short-form films and screenplays by emerging artists and student creators. Tatalovic is a member of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS - Great Lakes Chapter). He lives and works in Cleveland, Ohio, with his life partner and producing associate Deborah Ochwat.
21 wins and 40 nominations
