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First noticed by the end of sixties for his visually expressive and critical films, recognized both in his home country Yugoslavia and internationally (documentary "The Unemployed" - Grand Prix at Oberhausen Festival, 1968; feature "Early Works" - Grand Prix at Berlin Film Festival, 1969). In the early seventies, Zilnik was heavily criticized on ideological grounds, since his films were part of the "Black Wave" movement. "Early Works" & "Freedom or Cartoons" were censored and banned. The same happened to documentary "June Turmoil" which dealt with student demonstrations.

Between 1973 and 1976 Zilnik worked for independent production companies in Germany. Dealing with anarcho-terrorism as a subject of his documentary "Offentliche Hinrichtung " and the feature "Das Paradies", Zilnik again experienced mechanisms of censorship. Back in Yugoslavia, for some time he worked on theater productions, ("Gastarbeiter Opera") but since 1980 he has been formulating a specific language of docu-dramas, successfully presented on various televisions, local and international festivals ("The Injury and Recovery of Buda Brakus", awarded at Portorose Festival, 1981; "Brooklyn-Gusinje", awarded at Prix Europa, Stockholm 1988).
Several of his next projects were regarded as highly innovative and provocative:
feature "Pretty Women Walking Through the City" (1985) predicts that nationalistic tensions will lead to disintegration of Yugoslavia and cataclysm at the Balkans. Black comedy "The Way Steel Was Tempered" (1988), deals with the crash of the East-European model and phenomenon of "wild capitalism".

In 1993, Zilnik and colleague producer Sarita Matijevic started joint production company ("Teresianum bt" Budapest, Hungary), dealing mostly with projects having anti-war engagement, parts of documentary series "Disassembling of the Myths of he Balkans", several coproductions with European broadcasters, etc.
Up to present day, 'Teresianum bt', remains Zilnik's base for international projects, (some of them in progress, for example, documentary series 'Cosmo Girls').

In 1994, with "Tito's Second Time among the Serbs" , Zilnik also helped in initiating video and television production for the most radical and independent media in Yugoslavia at that time - B 92, in Belgrade. His feature from 1995, "Marble Ass" was an analysis of the myth built on masculinity and warrior mentality, a possible answer to the question what has left of the 'marble man' in the nineties. The film was awarded 'Teddy Bear' Prize at Berlin Film Festival, (1995) and afterwards attracted great attention all around the world (Los Angeles, Sao Paolo, Chicago, Munich, Moscow).

The latest feature film, international coproduction "Wanderlust" premiered in July 1998, portrays the destinies of common people from Central and Eastern Europe, adding to the story of the system of values generated in disputable social systems, the story which stands out in Zilnik's film career so far.

contact:
TERRA FILM,
Futoska 66,
21000 Novi Sad,
Yugoslavia
tel: ++ 381 21 20 855
fax: ++381 21 20 992
e-mail: zilnik@hotmail.com