Zlata Filipović (born 3 December 1980) is a Bosnian-Irish diarist. She kept a diary from 1991 to 1993 when she was a child living in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

during the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...

, later published as a

book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

Biography

The only child of an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

and a

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

, Filipović grew up in a middle-class family. From 1991 to 1993, she wrote in her diary, ''Mimmy'', about the horrors of the siege of Sarajevo during the

, through which she lived.The book, '' Zlata's Diary'', was published in France and translated into over 36 languages worldwide. Filipović and her family survived and escaped to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, in 1993 where they stayed for a year. She attended St. Andrew's College, Dublin (a senior school), going on to graduate from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

in 2001 with a BA in human sciences, and has lived in

Dublin, Ireland Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

since October 1995, where she studied at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

. Filipović has continued to write. She wrote the foreword to ''

The Freedom Writers Diary ''The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them'' is a non-fiction 1999 book written by The Freedom Writers, a group of students from Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, ...

'' and co-edited ''Stolen Voices: Young People's War Diaries, From World War I to Iraq''. She appeared on the Canadian version of the

talk show A talk show is a television programming, radio programming or podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show', pp.3-4Erler, Robert (201 ...

'' Tout le monde en parle'' on 19 November 2006. As of 2016, she lives in

, working in the field of documentary and other film production.

Works

Chapters

* * *

Translations and edited works

* ; English translation by Zlata Filipović * , co-edited by Zlata Filipović

Activism

In 2011, Filipović produced the short film ''Stand Up!'' for the Stand Up! campaign created by BeLonG To, an LGBTQ youth service organisation in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

against homophobic bullying in schools. It has been viewed over 1.6 million times on YouTube. Filipović served on the Executive Committee of

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

Ireland (2007–13) and is a founding member of NYPAW (Network of Young People Affected by War). She has spoken extensively at schools and universities around the world on issues of children in conflict. She was a member of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Jury for the Prize for Children and Young People's Literature for Tolerance, and is a recipient of the Child of Courage Award by the

Simon Wiesenthal Simon Wiesenthal (31 December 190820 September 2005) was an Austrian Holocaust survivor, Nazi hunter, and writer. He studied architecture, and was living in Lwów at the outbreak of World War II. He survived the Janowska concentration camp (la ...

Centre in Los Angeles (1994).

Production

Select Short Films

*2011: ''Hold on Tight'' *2011: ''Stand up'' *2012: ''Motion Sickness'' *2014: ''Stand up for your friends'' *2016: ''OCD and Me'' *2016: ''The Wake'' *2017: ''Bittersweet'' (documentary) *2018: ''Johnny'' (documentary) *2019: ''Strong at the Broken Places'' *2020: ''Welcome To A Bright White Limbo'' (Irish Film and Television Academy Awards - Best Short Film) *2024: ''Two Mothers'' (awarded Netflix Documentary Talent Fund support)

Select Documentary

*2012: ''Three Men Go to War'' *2013: ''Here Was Cuba'' *2014: ''Somebody to love'' *2016: ''The Farthest'' *2016: ''The Story of Yes'' *2017: ''The Farthest'' (Emmy award winner) *2020: ''When Women Won'' *2022: ''How To Tell A Secret''

Select Television

*2010: ''Blood of the Irish'' (series documentary) *2017: ''The Babymakers'' (series documentary) *2018: ''The Game: The Story of Hurling'' (series documentary) *2020: ''You, Me and Surrogacy'' (series documentary) *2022: ''Epic West'' (series documentary)

References

External links

*
Interview with Zlata Filipovic
motherdaughterbookclub.com, February 2010; accessed 7 March 2016.
Zlata Filipović interview
on the ''Charlie Rose'' show, 7 March 1994
Le Journal De Zlata
from ''Zone Libre'', radio-canada.ca, 19 December 2003. {{DEFAULTSORT:Filipovic, Zlata 1980 births Writers from Sarajevo Living people Irish women diarists 20th-century Irish diarists People of the Bosnian War 20th-century Bosnia and Herzegovina women writers 20th-century Bosnia and Herzegovina writers 21st-century Bosnia and Herzegovina women writers Alumni of the University of Oxford People educated at St Andrew's College, Dublin Women in the Bosnian War