Biography

Tomislav Osmanli (Macedonian Cyrillic: Томислав Османли, Macedonian pronunciation: [tǒmislaʋ osˈmanɫɯ ]; born 25 October 1956) is a Macedonian author, screenwriter, playwright, and journalist. Osmanli was born in Bitola, People's Republic of Macedonia, at that time a constituent republic of Yugoslavia. His father Dimitrie Osmanli was an acclaimed Macedonian film, theater director and author, whilst his mother was of Greek heritage from Thessaloniki. Osmanli was raised to speak both Macedonian and Greek languages, and was taught Aromanian by his paternal uncle.

The family moved to Skopje when he was two years old. Osmanli studied law at the Saints Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje, where his father also lectured and was a profound influence in his formative years.

In 1981 Osmanli published his seminal work Филмот и политичкото (English: Film and Politics) a theoretical study of political cinema. In 1987 Osmanli released Стрип: Запис со човечки лик (English: Comics: Scripture of the Human Image), the first scholarly work dedicated to Comics studies published in Yugoslavia.

Osmanli served as an independent editor and member of the editing board of his nation's oldest daily newspaper Nova Makedonija from 1991 to 1998, and as chief of arts and cultural programs at Telma TV between 1998 and 2016.

He is a member of the Macedonian Writer's Association and a member of both, the Macedonian PEN and the Aromanian PEN centers.

On May 18, 2023, he was proclaimed European Personality of The Year 2022 in his country, by the European movement North Macedonia.

Between the number of other, on December 28, 2023 he accepted the Croatian prize St. Donat as a Lifetime creative achievements Award.