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,
Mia Oremović and
Antun Nalis. In the 1950s Mimica worked as a director and writer on a number of critically acclaimed
animated films and became a prominent member of the
Zagreb School of Animated Films (his 1958 animated short film
The Loner (
Samac) was awarded the Venice Grand Prix), along with authors such as
Vlado Kristl and
Academy Award-winning
Dušan Vukotić. In 1963 he directed
Typhoid Sufferers (
Tifusari), a short experimental film based on
Jure Kaštelan's poem of the
same title.
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:
Solimano il conquistatore) starring
Edmund Purdom and
Giorgia Moll. 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. Mimica made several other films through the 1970s, most notably the period films
Anno Domini 1573 (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, before retiring from filmmaking in 1981. == Personal life ==