Miha Mazzini facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Miha Mazzini
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Miha Mazzini
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| Born | 3 June 1961 Jesenice, PR Slovenia, Yugoslavia |
| Occupation | Novelist, screenwriter, film director, columnist |
| Nationality | Slovenian |
| Alma mater | University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana |
| Period | 1981 to present |
| Genre | Novel, Short story, Film |
| Notable works | Guarding Hanna, The Cartier Project, King of the Rattling Spirits |
Miha Mazzini (born June 3, 1961) is a Slovenian writer, screenwriter, and film director. He has written over thirty books, and his stories have been translated into ten different languages. He studied anthropology and creative writing for film. He is also a voting member of the European Film Academy, which means he helps choose winners for European film awards.
Contents
About Miha Mazzini and His Work
Miha Mazzini often writes about his own childhood experiences. He grew up in Yugoslavia during a time called Titoism. This was when Yugoslavia was a socialist country led by President Tito.
Stories from Childhood
Mazzini wrote three novels that share stories from his childhood.
- The novel King of the Rattling Spirits (2002) is about a 12-year-old boy. This book was based on his film script from 2001 called Sweet Dreams.
- In his 2015 novel, Childhood, the main character is only five years old.
- His third novel, It's Personal (2022), looks back at his childhood and how it affected him.
Early Success and Important Topics
His first novel, Crumbs, was published in 1989. It was set in his hometown of Jesenice and sold 54,000 copies. This book was later released in America with the title The Cartier Project.
Miha Mazzini was the first Slovenian writer to write about "the erased". These were people who lost their legal rights and status after Slovenia became independent in 1991. He later turned this important story into a feature film called Erased.
Music, Swindlers, and Tough Characters
His historical novel Paloma Negra is about Yu-Mex music. This was a time in the 1950s when Yugoslav singers copied Mexican songs and music they saw in films. While researching this book, Mazzini interviewed people and made a documentary called Yugoslav Mexico (YuMex).
Another novel, German Lottery, is set in the same time period. It tells a story about tricksters, false hopes, and characters who are not always truthful.
Mazzini also introduced a new type of main character to Slovenian literature after 1990. In his novel Guarding Hanna, he created a tough character, similar to those found in Noir fiction (a style of crime fiction).
International Recognition
Miha Mazzini's short stories have been chosen for international collections. His story "Mother" was included in Contemporary European Fiction. Another story, "Avro Lancaster", appeared in Best European Fiction 2018.
Awards and Achievements
Miha Mazzini has won several awards for his writing and films.
- In 1987, his novel The Cartier Project won the Best Novel of the Year award. Both government-supporting and opposition newspapers agreed it was the best.
- In 2012, his short story "That Winter" received the Pushcart Prize, a well-known American literary award.
- He won the 2016 Kresnik Award for his novel Otroštvo (Childhood). This is one of Slovenia's most important literary awards.
- In 2019, he won best screenplay awards for his film Erased. He received these awards at the FEST festival in Belgrade, Serbia, and at the Raindance festival in London, UK.
Films Miha Mazzini Worked On
Miha Mazzini has worked on several films as a scriptwriter and director.
- Cartier Project (1991, TV film, scriptwriter)
- You're Free. Decide. (1999, short film, scriptwriter and director)
- Sweet Dreams (2001, feature film, scriptwriter)
- The Orphan with the magic voice (2003, short film, scriptwriter and director)
- A Very Simple Story (2008, short film, scriptwriter and director)
- Erased (2018, feature film, scriptwriter and director)
Multilingual Film Project
A Very Simple Story is a special film project. It uses the same script but is read by actresses from different countries in their own languages. Miha Mazzini wrote the script and directed both the Slovenian and Italian versions of the film. This project was even nominated for the Prix Europe award, which recognizes excellent European television and online productions.
