Biography
Nikola Kitanovski is one of the most talented and aspiring young directors of his generation. Born in the capital, Skopje, in Macedonia, Nikola comes from a family of great artistic minds and television directors. Nikola's mother is a renowned and established television director in Macedonia. His late father, was a camera man, and his godfather is one of the biggest film distributors in Europe. Having the opportunity to follow his mother's footsteps, Nikola became passionate for the craft of visual artistry and storytelling. In his early high school days, Nikola started to actively pursue his vision and co-found his first production company. At the early age of 16, he began his collaboration with many famous music artist and started his affluent career in music video directing. In a period of only 2 years, Nikola managed to direct over 23 successful projects that remain as timeless works of art, that set up the path for his career in television and movies that followed
In 2005, Nikola enrolled at the New Bulgarian University in Sofia, Bulgaria to further specialize in the field of Film and TV Directing. His professional work ethic, talent and enthusiasm for improvement gained him the status of a remarkable student with only perfect scores. Remaining completely involved in all directing and producing activities he successfully managed to continue his career directing. Gaining more qualified experience, Nikola directed his best and most challenging projects such as the documentary film "Alfonso".
At the age of 21, Nikola was assigned to produce and direct the the first ever made series of SK-CSI in Macedonia. The responsibility for setting the foundation of the show and conducting the casting for the actors was strictly in Nikola's hands. He managed to choose a team of professional A-list actors and crew that were extremely valuable to the production of the series. This was one of the most innovative ideas on the Macedonian television network.
In the summer of 2008, Nikola received acceptance into a prestigious filmmaking program in California, United States and moved to Los Angeles. This opportunity allowed Nikola to work with the greatest film makers in Hollywood and gain high professional experience in his field of film directing and producing. After completing both the Producing and Business of Entertainment Post Grad at University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) and receiving his bachelor's degree from the NBU University, Nikola officially started working for one of the highest ranking television stations in Europe. At an extremely young age of 23, Nikola became the main program producer and director for political, as well as entertainment talk shows. Being a valuable asset and a great contributor for the station's growing popularity, Nikola's career gained enormous recognition. By directing a broad range of television programs, Nikola became more experienced and confident in his directing techniques and capabilities.
Because of Nikola's strong visual precision and talent for artistic composition, he is often invited to work on movies as a director of photography. Determined to give his maximum effort in every project, Nikola values qualitative work and shoots most of his movies on film, as well as the latest and most advanced cameras of today, such as Arri Alexa and RED. Combining the best aspects of his international education and the high quality experience gained in the US, Nikola went on to produce and direct his debut American TV Show Bloodlands, and worked on multiple films at various positions such as producer and director. Some of Nikola's projects were shot on 16mm and 35 mm film which makes those experiences valuable and serve as a career breakthrough in the field of cinematography establishing himself as a complete visionary and a high-ranking and valuable asset to any production. The feature film "Clique" is set to be his directing debut which reveals Nikola's ability to create complex characters and his ability to portray the reality of life on screen with such vigilance and intricacy that inspires emotion in the eyes of the audience. With the success of his projects, Nikola affirms his producing, directing, editing and camera skills demonstrate that an absolute professional requires not only talent but self-determination and hard work.
Nikola continues to work on many projects simultaneously and manages to direct some of the most inventive and challenging commercials in the country as a part of his company Lionfly Studios, based in Los Angeles. Being responsible for the artistic and cultural sphere, Nikola proves that he can sustain multiple demanding positions at the same time. Nikola extends his capabilities and the variety of his projects by working on event commercials as well. The greatest Macedonian director of all time, Branko Gapo compares Nikola's style, vision and talent to Tarantino's. He predicts Nikola a bright and successful career in movie directing. Today, Nikola resides in Los Angeles, and continues to evolve as a professional and furthers his career, while being recognized with domestic and international awards.
