Getting Rave Reviews
YOUR GUARDIAN (2023) Part 1: Introduction

Synopsis (Internet Movie Data Base): The start of the Yugoslav civil war forces freshly graduated Mina to choose between being an obedient daughter or escaping abroad with her lover so he wouldn’t serve in the army

YOUR GUARDIAN (The Serbian Title: Čuvam Te) premiered at the British Film Institute before screening at the FEST International Film Festival in Belgrade, the largest film festival in Serbia. It has also premiered at two BIFA-qualifying film festivals.

Mirjana Mimi Vlaovic is a London-based filmmaker from Belgrade, Serbia. She has written and published three novels for children and has worked on over 50 short films, music videos, and documentaries as a writer-director, producer, production designer, costume, and editor.She has a BA in Digital Filmmaking from the SAE Institute in Belgrade, an MBA in Film Management and Marketing from the European University Faculty of European Business and Marketing, and an MA in Filmmaking from the London Film School.

YOUR GUARDIAN GUARDIAN is screening at film festivals around the world. Vlaovic has been shortlisted for the 2023 Young Director Awards in Cannes. Her works focus on female perspectives of cultural transgenerational patterns, particularly in family dynamics and love. She is prefers happy endings – hoping to inspire and never crush her the souls of her audiences in this period of incredible duress and unhappiness around the world.

Mimi Vlaovic

One of the main reasons Mimi Vlaovic made this film: I wanted to explore the struggle to let go of family’s expectations, merging (in the film) both mine and my mum’s experiences when she my age. Parents, godfathers, partners and potential partners, mentors, friends – everyone has opinions and expectations of your life, which is very typical for a Balkan environment. Once they establish that this world is a scary place for a woman, then they try to “protect” and “guard” you from life. I wanted to depict this feeling of claustrophobia that is in my own mind, attempting to fulfill expectation by expectation hoping that freedom will follow. Until one understands that one needs to free one’s self. I am still very much learning how to give space and time to my inner “guardian,” and making this film was a pretty good start.”

 


 

Part 2 – YOUR GUARDIAN 20-Minute Film Short: Q&A with Director Mimi Vloavic Who Elaborates on the Who, What, Where, When, Why & How (The 5Ws & H) of Her Sublime Short Film – Click here.

 

WORD Writer and Editor Gregg W. Morris can be reached at gregghc@comcast.net, profgreggwmorris@gmail.com