Roko Belic

Roko Belic is an American film producer and director. His directorial debut, Genghis Blues, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Belic was born to Czechoslovakian and Yugoslavian parents, Danica and Dr. Nenad Belic. During his childhood, his mother used a wrench to lock a broken dial on the family TV to the local PBS channel. His first film-making experience was in third grade with his brother, Adrian, when a childhood friend Christopher Nolan borrowed a Super 8 movie camera from his parents. With Nolan, Belic co–directed the surreal Super 8 film Tarantella (1989), which aired on Image Union, an independent film and video showcase on the Public Broadcasting Service. Nolan and Roko also worked together on a documenting a safari across four African countries, organised by the late photojournalist Dan Eldon in the early 1990s.

Belic grew up in suburban Chicago, attended Evanston Township High School and later attended the University of California, Santa Barbara.

For his first feature, Belic was inspired by a story unfolding in the little-known Siberian republic of Tuva. Trusting his intuition, Belic purchased two cameras on credit and flew with his brother to Tuva to create the documentary feature, Genghis Blues (1999). Belic’s landmark film received an Academy Award nomination for best documentary feature and won over 70 international film festival awards including the Sundance Audience Award.

Continuing with his passion of global cinematic journeys, Belic associate produced Beyond the Call (2006), following three American soldiers-turned-humanitarians, traveling to war zones around the world delivering life-saving aid. The following year, Belic co-produced and shot the award-winning Indestructible (2007), filmed in locations from China to Israel, following one man’s search for a cure for his terminal illness.

In 2010, Belic directed the documentary Dreams: Cinema Of The Subconscious, included on the Inception (2010) Blu-ray. Following its success, he directed The Batmobile, released on The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Blu-ray.

Most recently, Belic teamed up with director Tom Shadyac (Bruce Almighty, Liar Liar, The Nutty Professor), who executive produced, to make the feature documentary Happy (2012). Directed, written, and co-produced by Belic, Happy combines powerful human stories with cutting-edge science to give audiences a deeper understanding of our most desired emotion. Happy won numerous awards and screened in 70 countries. It was the #1 documentary on iTunes for over nine weeks and achieved "All-Time Bestseller" status.

Belic has a daughter and son with longtime girlfriend, Gael Firth. His father, Nenad, was a retired cardiologist who died while attempting to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

Director

• Genghis Blues (1999)
• Happy (2011)
• Dreams (2010)
• The Batmobile (2012)

Producer

• Genghis Blues (1999) (executive producer) (producer)
• Homecoming (2004) (field producer)
• Beyond the Call (2006) (co-producer)
• Indestructible (2007) (co-producer)

Cinematographer

• Genghis Blues (1999)
• Indestructible (2007)
• I Am (2010)
• Happy (2011)

Actor

• Totally Fucked Up (1993)
• Fame Whore (1997)