Vatroslav Mimica (25 June 1923 – 15 February 2020) was a Croatian film director and screenwriter.

Early life

Born in

Omiš Omiš (, Latin and it, Almissa) is a town and port in the Dalmatia region of Croatia, and is a municipality in the Split-Dalmatia County. The town is situated approximately south-east of Croatia's second largest city, Split. Its location is wh ...

, Mimica had enrolled at the

University of Zagreb School of Medicine The School of Medicine ( hr, Medicinski fakultet or MEF) in Zagreb is a Croatian medical school affiliated with the University of Zagreb. It is the oldest and biggest of the four medical schools in Croatia (the other three being in Osijek, Rij ...

before the outbreak of

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 1942 he joined

Young Communist League of Yugoslavia , SKOJ mk, Сојуз на комунистичката младина на Југославија, СКМЈ sl, Zveza komunistične mladine Jugoslavije, ZKMJ , colorcode = red , founded = 1919 , dissolved = 1948 , succeeded by = League of S ...

(SKOJ) and in 1943 he went on to join the

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...

, becoming a member of their medical units.

Career

After the war Mimica wrote literary and film reviews, and his career in filmmaking began in 1950 when he became the director of the Jadran Film production studio.

Animation

He had his directorial and screenwriting debut in the 1952 Yugoslav film ''In the Storm'' ( Croatian: ''U oluji'') which starred

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 ...

Mia Oremović Mia Oremović (31 July 1918 – 24 July 2010) was a Croatian theatre, film and television actress. Selected filmography *'' It Was Not in Vain'' (1957) *'' H-8'' (1958) *''I Have Two Mothers and Two Fathers'' (1968) *''One Song a Day Takes Mischi ...

and

Antun Nalis Antun Nalis (9 February 1911 – 14 February 2000), a.k.a. Tonči Nalis, was a Croatian actor. Antun Nalis was born in Zadar, which was part of Austria-Hungary at the time. After World War I Zadar became part of Italy, which later helped Nalis to ...

. In the 1950s Mimica worked as a director and writer on a number of critically acclaimed

animated film Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

s and became a prominent member of the

Zagreb School of Animated Films Zagreb school of animated films is a style of animation originating from Zagreb and Croatia, most notably Zagreb Film. It is represented by authors like Nikola Kostelac, Vatroslav Mimica, Dušan Vukotić and Vladimir Kristl. The term was coined b ...

(his 1958 animated short film ''The Loner'' ('' Samac'') was awarded the Venice Grand Prix), along with authors such as

Vlado Kristl Vladislav "Vlado" Kristl (24 January 1923, Zagreb, Croatia – 7 July 2004, Munich, Germany) was a filmmaker and artist, best known for his animations and short films. Biography Vladislav "Vlado" Kristl was born 24 January 1923 in Zagreb, Croati ...

and

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning

Dušan Vukotić Dušan Vukotić (7 February 1927 – 8 July 1998) was a Yugoslav and Croatian cartoonist, author and director of animated films of Montenegrin descent. He is the best known member of the Zagreb school of animated films. Biography Vukotić w ...

Feature film

In the 1960s Mimica moved away from animation (his last animated film was 1971 film ''The Firemen'' (''Vatrogasci'')) and turned to directing feature films, starting with the 1961 Yugoslav-Italian film ''Suleiman the Conqueror'' (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

: ''Solimano il conquistatore'') starring

Edmund Purdom Edmund Anthony Cutlar Purdom (19 December 19241 January 2009) was an English actor, voice artist, and director. He worked first on stage in Britain, performing various works by Shakespeare, then in America on Broadway and in Hollywood, and event ...

and

Giorgia Moll Giorgia Moll (born 14 January 1938) is an Italian film actress. She was sometimes credited as Georgia Moll and Georgia Mool. Background Moll was born in Prata di Pordenone to a German father and an Italian mother. At a young age, she began a br ...

. His 1965 film ''

Prometheus of the Island ''Prometheus of the Island'' ( sh, Prometej s otoka Viševice), also known in English as ''Prometheus from the island of Viševica'', is a 1964 Yugoslav film directed by Vatroslav Mimica. It won the Big Golden Arena for Best Film at the 1965 Pul ...

'' (''Prometej s otoka Viševice'') won the

Big Golden Arena for Best Film The Golden Arena awards were established in 1955 as the Yugoslav national film awards presented annually at the Pula Film Festival in Pula, Croatia, with the Big Golden Arena for Best Film its main prize. From 1955 to 1990 the awards were the Yug ...

at the 1965

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 earned Mimica a runner-up Silver Arena award for Best Director. It was also entered into the

4th Moscow International Film Festival The 4th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 5 to 20 July 1965. The Grand Prix was shared between the Soviet film ''War and Peace'' directed by Sergei Bondarchuk and the Hungarian film ''Twenty Hours'' directed by Zoltán Fábri. Jur ...

winning a Special Diploma. The following year his 1966 film ''Monday or Tuesday'' (''Ponedjeljak ili utorak'') also won the Big Golden Arena for Best Film and Mimica won the

Golden Arena for Best Director The Golden Arena for Best Director ''( Croatian: Zlatna arena za režiju'') is an award given for best director at the Pula Film Festival, which was until 1992 the Yugoslav equivalent of the Academy Awards. Since 1992 and the breakup of Yugosla ...

. Mimica made several other films through the 1970s, most notably the period films ''

Anno Domini 1573 ''Anno Domini 1573'' ( sh, Seljačka buna 1573, en, 1573 Peasants' Revolt) is a 1975 Yugoslav/ Croatian feature film directed by Vatroslav Mimica. The film was selected for Directors' Fortnight section at Cannes Film Festival in 1976. It is a ...

(Peasant revolt of 1573)'' - ''Seljačka buna 1573.'' in Croatian - depicting the 16th century Croatian-Slovenian peasant revolt, and '' The Falcon'' (''Banović Strahinja''), set in 14th century

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

, before retiring from filmmaking in 1981.

Personal life

His son

Sergio Mimica-Gezzan Sergio Mimica-Gezzan (also known as Srđan Mimica; born May 2, 1956) is a Croatian-born American film and television director. He is the son of famous Croatian film director Vatroslav Mimica. He has received three Directors Guild of America awar ...

is an American film and television director.

Filmography

*'' The Jubilee of Mr Ikel'' (''Jubilej gospodina Ikla'', 1955) *''Suleiman the Conqueror'' (''Solimano il conquistatore'', 1961) *''

'' (''Prometej s otoka Viševice'', 1964) *''

Monday or Tuesday ''Monday or Tuesday'' is a 1921 short story collection by Virginia Woolf published by The Hogarth Press. 1000 copies were printed with four full-page woodcuts by Vanessa Bell. Leonard Woolf called it one of the worst printed books ever publishe ...

'' (''Ponedjeljak ili utorak'', 1966) *''

Kaya Kaya may refer to: People *Kaya (given name) *Kaya (surname) Places *Kaya, Burkina Faso, a town in Burkina Faso, capital of the department *Kaya Airport, serving the town * Kaya Department, a department or commune of Sanmatenga Province in centr ...

'' (''Kaja, ubit ću te!'', 1967) *''

An Event ''An Event'' ( hr, Događaj) is a 1969 Yugoslav feature film directed by Vatroslav Mimica, based on a short story by Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date ...

'' (''Događaj'', 1969) *''

The Fed One ''The Fed One'' ( hr, Hranjenik) is a 1970 Yugoslav feature film directed by Vatroslav Mimica Vatroslav Mimica (25 June 1923 – 15 February 2020) was a Croatian film director and screenwriter. Early life Born in Omiš, Mimica had enrolled ...

'' (''Hranjenik'', 1970) *'' The Macedonian Part of Hell'' (''Makedonskiot del od pekolot'', 1971) *''

'' (''Seljačka buna 1573'', 1975) *'' The Last Mission of Demolitions Man Cloud'' (''Posljednji podvig diverzanta Oblaka'', 1978) *'' The Falcon'' (''Banović Strahinja'', 1981)

References

External links

*
Interview with Vatroslav Mimica
at Kinoeye.com
Vatroslav Mimica biography
at Filmski-Programi.hr {{DEFAULTSORT:Mimica, Vatroslav 1923 births 2020 deaths 20th-century Croatian people Croatian animated film directors Croatian film directors Croatian screenwriters Golden Arena for Best Director winners Omiš Vladimir Nazor Award winners Yugoslav film directors