ABOUT
Stefan Randjelovic is a Franco-Serbian filmmaker and commercial director based in Belgrade, creating work that prioritizes truth over comfort.
His visual language combines French cinematic sensibility with Balkan directness—romantic composition in service of honest storytelling, elegance that doesn't shy away from edge. His work has screened at international festivals and been trusted by brands willing to say something real.
APPROACH
Great work starts with a simple question: What are you actually trying to say?
Whether it's a 30-second spot or a narrative feature, the method is the same—find the core truth of the story, then build everything around that. Cinema as communication, not decoration.
The process begins with clarity. Strip away what doesn't serve the story. No borrowed aesthetics just because they're trending. No safe references to what's already been done. Instead: identify the single image or moment that contains everything, then craft around that core.
Visually, this means commitment. Stillness when stillness serves the story. Movement when movement reveals something essential. Composition that guides the eye to what matters. Light that creates mood without announcing itself. The goal is images that feel inevitable—like they couldn't have been made any other way.
Narratively, it means trusting what's unspoken. The best stories operate like icebergs—what's visible suggests the weight beneath. Silence and subtext over exposition. Every frame earns its place. If the image isn't doing the work, something needs to change.
This works best with collaborators who value clarity and aren't afraid to push beyond the first comfortable idea. The goal isn't to make something safe—it's to make something true. Work that resonates because it feels honest, not because it follows a formula.
COMPLETE CREATIVE CONTROL
Most agencies fragment your vision across departments—concept gets diluted by stakeholders, cinematography gets averaged by committee, editing gets smoothed into something safe enough to approve but too bland to remember.
I control every layer because coherent work requires a single point of view. One vision executed across six disciplines.
DIRECTION
Finding what you're actually trying to say, then saying it clearly.
Most directors start with "what does the client want?" Better question: what's the truth at the core of this story? What's the thing worth saying, even if it makes some people uncomfortable? Direction isn't about managing a shoot—it's about protecting the idea from getting watered down by everyone who wants to play it safer.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Light and composition in service of the story, not decoration.
Pretty images are easy. Images that create the right feeling and stick in memory—that's craft. Framing that puts the viewer exactly where they need to be. Movement that reveals something essential. Lighting that creates atmosphere without announcing itself. The goal isn't just to make your brand look expensive. It's to create visuals people can't forget.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Creating images that stop the scroll because they mean something.
Social feeds are filled with brands trying to stand out while doing exactly what everyone else does. Every image optimized for engagement, all looking identically forgettable. The way to break through is specificity—images so committed to a clear point of view that people pause mid-scroll because something feels different, honest, real.
EDITING
Controlling rhythm, pacing, and when the audience feels what you need them to feel.
Editing determines when someone breathes, when they lean forward, when the story lands. Where you cut shapes the entire emotional experience. Most editing smooths everything into polish. I edit for impact—finding the exact rhythm that makes people feel something, then remembering it.
AI INTEGRATION
Using technology to amplify craft, not replace the human instinct that makes work memorable.
AI can accelerate execution, but it can't generate vision. The technology is a tool for doing more within tight timelines and budgets—more iterations, faster turnarounds, higher fidelity. But the core idea, the emotional truth, the reason someone cares—that still comes from human judgment, not algorithms.
STRATEGIC CONSULTING
Teaching your team to stop asking "will this perform?" and start asking "is this true?"
Most in-house teams are trained to optimize for metrics and minimize risk. This produces work that's professional and completely forgettable. I work with teams ready to prioritize truth over safety—developing visual instinct, protecting bold ideas through approval processes, and building workflows that support honest storytelling instead of committee-approved blandness.
This isn't about offering six services.
It's about keeping your vision coherent from concept to delivery.
One perspective. No fragmentation. No dilution by specialists who don't understand the whole. No "let's make it safer" compromises that turn something meaningful into something forgettable.
COMPLETE CONTROL.
COMPLETE CLARITY.