Roko Belic was born to Czechoslovakian and Yugoslavian parents and grew up in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois. During his childhood, his mother used a wrench to lock a broken dial on the family TV to the local PBS channel. Belic watched "tons of documentaries" growing up and credits that experience for creating in him a deep curiosity about the world and its cultures. His first film-making experience was in third grade with his brother, Adrian, when a friend borrowed a super-8 movie camera from his parents.
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. 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 (directed by his brother, Adrian) 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, filmed in locations from China to Israel, following one man’s search for a cure for his terminal illness.
Belic then 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.
Later, Belic teamed up with director Tom Shadyac (Bruce Almighty, Liar Liar, The Nutty Professor), who executive produced, to make the feature documentary Happy. Directed, written, and co-produced by Belic, 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.
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. 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 (directed by his brother, Adrian) 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, filmed in locations from China to Israel, following one man’s search for a cure for his terminal illness.
Belic then 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.
Later, Belic teamed up with director Tom Shadyac (Bruce Almighty, Liar Liar, The Nutty Professor), who executive produced, to make the feature documentary Happy. Directed, written, and co-produced by Belic, 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.