Aleksandar "Saša" Petrović (14 January 1929 – 20 August 1994) was a Serbian film director. He was one of the major figures of the Yugoslav Black Wave. Two of his films were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film: Three in 1966^[1] and I Even Met Happy Gypsies (Feather Gatherers) in 1967.^[2] The latter (original title "Skupljaci perja") was the first movie that presented the existence of Gypsies in society and everyday life; it was also the first full-feature film where Gypsies spoke their own language, Roma. Most roles were interpreted by real Gypsies; this was their movie. "As a child, I observed them and saw in these people faith and irrationality," said Petrović^[3] I Even Met Happy Gypsies won the FIPRESCI Prize and the Grand Prize of the Jury at the Cannes Film Festival; it also received a nomination for a Golden Globe.^[4] In 1967 Petrović was a member of the jury at the 17th Berlin International Film Festival.^[5]

One of his most famous films is It Rains in My Village. Petrović found inspiration for this film in Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel The Possessed.^[6] The film was nominated for a Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival^[7]

In 1973, Petrović was forced to leave his post at the Belgrade Film Academy after being accused of holding anti-communist views by the communist government of Yugoslavia. In late December 1989, he joined the founding committee of the Democratic Party in Serbia, the first opposition anti-communist party in Serbia.^[8] He died at age 65 in Paris, France.

Petrović published several hundreds of articles and several books, including Novi film I: 1960-1965 and Novi film II: Crni film (1965-1970).^[9]