Božidarka Frajt (also spelled Frait; born 11 November 1940) is a Croatian actress. In her six decade long career, she has composed a prolific repertoire in Croatian television, film and theatre, but is best known for her role in

cinéma vérité Cinéma vérité (, , ; "truthful cinema") is a style of documentary filmmaking developed by Edgar Morin and Jean Rouch, inspired by Dziga Vertov's theory about Kino-Pravda. It combines improvisation with use of the camera to unveil truth or high ...

-style 1972 film '' The Living Truth'', which earned her critical praise and a Golden Arena Award for Best Actress. In 2010, Frajt was awarded the

Vladimir Nazor Award The Vladimir Nazor Award ( hr, Nagrada Vladimir Nazor) is a Croatian prize for arts and culture established in 1959 and awarded every year by the Ministry of Culture. Named after the writer Vladimir Nazor (1876–1949), the prize is awarded to Cr ...

for lifetime achievement.

Early life

Božidarka Frajt was born Božidarka Grublješić on 11 November 1940. Born to an ethnic

Bosnian Serb The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби у Босни и Херцеговини, Srbi u Bosni i Hercegovini) are one of the three constitutive nations (state-forming nations) of the country, predominantly residing in the politi ...

family, her exact birthplace is unknown due to the scarce information of her childhood. It is believed she was born in

Velika Žuljevica Velika Žuljevica (Cyrillic: Велика Жуљевица) is a village in the municipality of Novi Grad, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia– ...

under

Kozara Kozara ( sr-cyrl, Козара) is a mountain in western Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the town of Kozarac and in the Bosanska Krajina region, bounded by the Sava River to the north, the Vrbas to the east, the Sana to the south, and the Una to the ...

, and that she was taken to a concentration camp for Serbian kids in

Sisak Sisak (; hu, Sziszek ; also known by other alternative names) is a city in central Croatia, spanning the confluence of the Kupa, Sava and Odra rivers, southeast of the Croatian capital Zagreb, and is usually considered to be where the Posavin ...

during the

Kozara Offensive The Kozara Offensive (also known as Operation West-Bosnien) was fought in 1942 on and around the mountain of Kozara in northwestern Bosnia. It was an important battle of the Yugoslav Partisan resistance movement in World War II. It later became ...

in 1942 along with thousands of other orphans. She was later adopted by

Croatian Jews The history of the Jews in Croatia dates back to at least the 3rd century, although little is known of the community until the 10th and 15th centuries. According to the 1931 census, the community numbered 21,505 members, and it is estimated t ...

Katarina and Stjepan Frajt. At the age of 36, she found out about her Kozara heritage when a woman named Dara Grublješić identified her as her niece.

Career

Frajt made her acting debut in the 1959 Croatian-language film ''Lakat kao takav'', directed by

Ante Babaja Ante Babaja (6 October 1927 – 14 January 2010) was a notable Croatian film director and screenwriter. Babaja finished high school in Zagreb before going on to enrol at the University of Zagreb where he studied law and economy. He started work ...

. In 1963, Frajt interpreted the complex character Vera in the Yugoslav political film '' Licem u lice''. The film directed by

Branko Bauer Branko Bauer (18 February 1921 – 11 April 2002) was a Croatian film director. He is considered to be the leading figure of classical narrative cinema in Croatian and Yugoslav cinema of the 1950s. Early life Bauer became interested in cine ...

gained critical acclaim, winning a Big Golden Arena Award for Best Film at the

Pula Film Festival Pula Film Festival ( hr, Pulski filmski festival) is an annual Croatian film festival, established in 1954. It is held in a Roman amphitheater known as the Pula Arena. Pula Film Festival is the oldest Croatian film festival and is usually held in ...

and critical praise. Her debut as a television actress came with the 1969 ''Sumorna Jesen'', as "The Good Fairy". The plot lines of most of the episodes Frajt starred in were inspired by the experiences of screenwriter Ivan Šibl in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1972, Frajt starred in the directorial debut film of

Tomislav Radić Tomislav Radić (8 December 1940 – 7 March 2015) was a Croatian film director and screenwriter. Born in Zagreb, Radić graduated from both University of Zagreb's Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and Academy of Dramatic Art. Lived in ...

'' The Living Truth''. Her dynamic and dominant interpretation in the drama provided a direct

dichotomy A dichotomy is a partition of a whole (or a set) into two parts (subsets). In other words, this couple of parts must be * jointly exhaustive: everything must belong to one part or the other, and * mutually exclusive: nothing can belong simulta ...

to the depressing nature of the film. Her performance instantly made her one of the most prominent film actresses of Yugoslavia, winning her a

Golden Arena for Best Actress The following is a list of winners of the Golden Arena for Best Actress at the Pula Film Festival. List of winners Yugoslav Film Awards (1955–90) Croatian Film Awards (1990–present) Footnotes :A. Although the festival was opened ...

and commercial success. In a 1999 poll among 44 Croatian film consumers, ''The Living Truth'' was placed 20th on the list of all-time best Croatian films. Frajt had a major role in the 1977

Krešo Golik Krešimir "Krešo" Golik (20 May 1922 – 20 September 1996) was a Croatian film and television director and screenwriter. In a creative career spanning five decades between the late 1940s and late 1980s, Golik directed a number of criticall ...

film ''

Pucanj ''A Shot'' (''Pucanj'') is a 1977 Croatian film directed by Krešo Golik Krešimir "Krešo" Golik (20 May 1922 – 20 September 1996) was a Croatian film and television Film director, director and screenwriter. In a creative career spannin ...

'', sharing the protagonist role with Serbian actor Marko Nikolić. In 1978, she appeared as the middle-aged audio pedagogue protagonist Ljubica in another Golik production ''

Ljubica Ljubica ( sr-cyr, Љубица and mk, Љубица) is a Slavic feminine given name meaning "love" or "kiss", where -ica is a diminutive suffix. Also, ''ljubica'' means violet, while the actual flower is ''ljubičica'', a superdiminutive. It is ...

''. In 1981,

Veljko Bulajić Veljko Bulajić (born 22 March 1928) is a Montenegrins of Croatia, Montenegrin film director and UNESCO Kalinga Prize recipient. He has spent the majority of his life working in Croatia and is primarily known for directing World War II-themed movi ...

invited her to play the principal character in the film ''

High Voltage High voltage electricity refers to electrical potential large enough to cause injury or damage. In certain industries, ''high voltage'' refers to voltage above a certain threshold. Equipment and conductors that carry high voltage warrant spec ...

'', after her performance as Ljubica. In 1997, she voiced Grga (Melvin)'s mother in the Croatian-language animated feature

Lapitch the Little Shoemaker ''Lapitch the Little Shoemaker'' ( hr, Čudnovate zgode šegrta Hlapića) is a 1997 animation, animated feature that was originally released by Croatia Film. Produced on vintage (design), vintage cel equipment during the early 1990s, this was the ...

. Frajt also dubbed

Kala Kala or Kalah may refer to: Religion Hinduism *Kāla, a Sanskrit word meaning ''time'' *Kāla, a Hindu deity of time, destiny, death and destruction closely related to Yama and Shiva. *Kalā, a Sanskrit word meaning ''performing arts'' * Kala Bo, ...

in the official 2005 Croatian version of the 1999 animated film Tarzan, and in 2013,

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (born Helen Lydia Mironoff; born 26 July 1945) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, she is the only performer to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting in both the United States and the United Kingdom. ...

's character Dean Abigail Hardscrabble in the Croatian dub of

Monsters University ''Monsters University'' is a 2013 American computer-animated monster comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Dan Scanlon (in his feature directorial debut) and produced by Kori ...

. For her services to Yugoslav film, she was awarded the

in 2010.

Personal life

Frajt was married to Croatian producer Boris Gregorić, with whom she had one child, Bojana, who is a prominent Croatian actress. Frajt currently lives in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

.(T.K.
Pravac Montevideo

Glas Slavonije ''Glas Slavonije'' () is a Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = ...

, 18 August 2012

Selected filmography

Television

Film

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frajt, Bozidarka 1940 births Living people People from Novi Grad, Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatian actresses Croatian film actresses Croatian television actresses Croatian voice actresses Croatian stage actresses Croatian Theatre Award winners Croatian theatre directors Vladimir Nazor Award winners Golden Arena winners Croatian people of Serbian descent