Born in Belgrade, he was raised by his grandparents in Niš, following the divorce of his parents. 14 years later he returned to Belgrade where he worked with his stepfather at the Yugoslav film archive.

He graduated from the well-known Film Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU). He has made 30 documentaries and 16 feature films, shown and acclaimed at the most prestigious international film festivals (Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Toronto and San Sebastian…). The rise of nationalism in Yugoslavia forced him to leave his country in 1992. In 1998 he went back to make "Powder Keg" (aka "Cabaret Balkan", in the USA) which won international critics' prizes (FIPRESCI) at the Venice Film Festival and at the European Film Awards. In 2001, Variety International Film Guide marked him as one of the world's top five directors of the year. The Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA) presented a full retrospective of his work in January 2008. It was BFI Southbank's (London) turn to organize in July 2010 a full retrospective of his 16 feature films, along with the publication of a monograph (in English) about his work. Goran Paskaljevic lives between Belgrade and Paris. He has both Serbian and French citizenship.