Branko Lustig facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Branko Lustig
Lustig at the LAMOTH 2nd Annual Dinner in 2009
Born	(1932-06-10)10 June 1932 Osijek, Sava Banovina, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Died	14 November 2019(2019-11-14) (aged 87) Zagreb, Croatia
Occupation	Film producer
Years active	1955–2019
Spouse(s)	Mirjana Lustig ​ (m. 1970)​
Parent(s)	Mirko Lustig Vilma Gütter

Branko Lustig (born June 10, 1932 – died November 14, 2019) was a famous film producer from Croatia. He is especially known for winning two Academy Awards for Best Picture. These awards were for the movies Schindler's List and Gladiator. He is the only person from Croatia to have won two of these top film awards.

Branko Lustig's Early Life

Branko Lustig was born in Osijek, which was then part of Kingdom of Yugoslavia. He came from a Jewish family in Croatia. His father, Mirko, worked as a head-waiter. His mother, Vilma, was a housewife. Branko often went to the local synagogue with his grandparents.

During World War II, Branko was a child. He was held for two years in very difficult camps. These included Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. Many people in his family died during the Holocaust. This included his grandmother and his father. Branko's mother survived the war. They were reunited after the camps were freed. On the day he was set free, Branko weighed only about 66 pounds (30 kg). He later said that a German officer helped him survive in Auschwitz. This officer knew Branko's father from their hometown.

Branko Lustig's Movie Career

Branko Lustig started his film career in 1955. He began as an assistant director at Jadran Film. This was a film company in Zagreb. In 1956, he helped make a World War II movie called Ne okreći se sine. He also worked on the movie Fiddler on the Roof in 1971. In the 1980s, Branko worked on TV shows. These included The Winds of War (1983) and War and Remembrance (1988). He moved to the United States in 1988.

Winning Academy Awards

Branko Lustig won his first Oscar in 1993. This was for producing Schindler's List. This film tells the true story of Oskar Schindler. He was a German businessman who saved many Jewish people during World War II. Branko himself had a small role in the movie. He played a maitre d' in a nightclub. In 2015, Branko gave his Oscar to Yad Vashem. This is a special place that remembers the Holocaust.

He won his second Oscar in 2001. This was for the movie Gladiator. This epic film is about a fight for power in ancient Rome.

Other Notable Films

Branko Lustig also worked on other big Hollywood movies. He was a producer or executive producer for films like The Peacemaker (1997), Hannibal (2001), and Black Hawk Down (2001). In 2008, he helped start a film company called Six Point Films. Their goal was to make "meaningful, thought-provoking independent films."

Personal Life and Legacy

In 1994, Branko Lustig received a special award from the President of Croatia. It was called the Order of Duke Trpimir. This was for his great work in film. In 2008, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Zagreb. This is a very high honor from a university.

The Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust honored Branko Lustig in 2009. They recognized his dedication to teaching about the Holocaust. Branko was also a founding member of the Jewish Movie Festival in Zagreb. In 2010, he became an honorary citizen of his hometown, Osijek.

In 2011, Branko Lustig had his bar mitzvah ceremony. He had it at Auschwitz, where he was once a prisoner. He was ten years old when he was sent there. He missed his bar mitzvah when he was 13 because he was in the camp. This special ceremony took place during a trip for high school students. The trip was about learning about the Holocaust.

Branko Lustig lived in both Los Angeles and Zagreb. He considered both cities his home. He passed away in Zagreb on November 14, 2019, at the age of 87. His life was remembered on a BBC Radio 4 program.

Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Branko Lustig para niños