US Academy Award in the best foreign film category, the Croatian cinematography association (HMFD) decided last month.
Specialising in epic war films, Bulajic ranked among the former Yugoslavia's most popular film makers of the 1960s and 1970s. At his peak he received privileges denied other directors by Tito's regime, making him the object of considerable hatred amongst his colleagues.
Bulajic's two most internationally popular films were the war spectaculars Kozara (1962) and Bitka na Neretvi (Battle on the River Neretva), made in 1969. The latter featured an international cast and earned Bulajic an Oscar nomination.
Bulajic began his career in the 1940s as a journalist and director of short Yugoslavian documentaries. During the 1950s, Bulajic enrolled in Rome's Centro Sperimentale film school, and afterward assisted several renowned Italian directors, including Federico Fellini and Vittorio De Sica.
He returned to Yugoslavia in 1958 and made his feature directorial debut with Vlak Bez Voznog Reda (Train Without a Timetable), which won him international acclaim. His 1963 documentary Skopje won many awards and established Bulajic as a prominent film maker.
Bulajic was a m ember of jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1969 and 1980.
The 79th Annual Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, February 25, 2007.