Imala je samo devet godina kad je odigrala svoju prvu ulogu. Bila je to ljubav na prvi pogled. Završila je glumu na klasi sa Draganom Mićanovićem, a zatim je u zrelim godinama otkrila ljubav prema pisanju. Sjajan prijem kod publike imali su njeni romani "Moj jedini život" i "Led". Ćerka čuvene glumice Vere Čukić i scenariste Gordana Mihića danas živi u prirodi i u kući koju su njeni roditelj počeli da grade kad se rodila
I was born on 13 January, on Serbian New Year's Eve, in Belgrade, under the sign of Capricorn. My mum was on maternity leave until I was two years old and was always by my side. I remember my early childhood by a sense of security and contentment. The contact with my parents, relatives, and friends was important to me.
When I was very young, my paternal grandfather and grandmother, Aunt Cica, and many other relatives who influenced my upbringing were alive. When I was five years old, a cousin of mine was born, and later her brother too. Since I was an only child, they were like siblings to me, and we were inseparable. We played from morning until evening.
Skating and Travels
Until I was ten, we lived in Banovo Brdo. That neighbourhood is like a city in itself. We had a huge courtyard where around a hundred children played every day. Opposite our building on Požeška Street was an elementary school, then called The Filip Kljajić Fića Elementary, an experimental school with a swimming pool and skating rink in the courtyard. From the age of two, I went to that courtyard to skate. As I watched the children in the schoolyard every day, I couldn’t wait to start school myself.
I also remember my early childhood by frequent car trips with my parents. Whenever they had a few free days, we would decide to hop in the car (a Fiat 125) at the crack of dawn, often making the decision just the night before. We travelled across most of Italy and many nearby countries of the former Yugoslavia. The dinar was still convertible, good accommodation wasn’t too expensive and was readily available, and we weren’t demanding. We sang our favourite songs in the car, from old folk tunes like Višnjičica Rod Rodila (The Little Sour Cherry Tree Has Borne Fruit), Hajde, Kato, Hajde, Zlato (Come On, Kata, Come On, Sweetheart), Devojčica Ružu Brala (A Girl Was Picking A Rose), Tamo Daleko (There, Far Away)... to the contemporary hits of the time, like those by the bands Indeksi, Bijelo Dugme, and Korni Grupa. We joked and laughed, with my dad’s puns flying, and my mum and I would pretend to speak the language of whichever country we entered... Those trips meant a lot to me because we visited almost all the significant cultural and historical sites, feeling the charm and spirit of those nations.
On Acting
I’m very glad that not only the mentioned series but also the films I acted in or produced are often re-aired. I’m happy that the audience loves and enjoys watching them, as I can tell from individual comments from strangers, interactions on social media, friends' feedback, and official viewership data... During my studies in acting at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, I was invited, in my second year, to play leading roles in two major plays and one TV series. The series was filmed in Sarajevo and called Sarajevo Stories, and the invitation came from the producer, the great Yugoslav actor Bora Todorović. He was one of the first actors in our region to venture into film production. He recommended me to director Faruk Sokolović for the role of the troubled high school girl Đana after seeing one of my exam performances at the faculty, where I acted alongside my classmate Dragan Mićanović. It was the magical Bora who gave me my first professional television role.
Some Like It Hot
While filming in Sarajevo with fantastic co-stars like Mira Furlan, Dragan Jovičić, and Ena Begović, I received an offer from Belgrade’s outstanding director Soja Jovanović to play Puslica in the musical Some Like It Hot at the Terazije Theatre, a role I performed to full houses for the next 15 years. And lo and behold, at the same time, the already renowned director Egon Savin invited me to play Roxane in Edmond Rostand's famous play Cyrano de Bergerac, with Miki Manojlović in the title role at the National Theatre. For me, the 1990/91 season was the fulfilment of a professional dream of taking a creative flight to the art heavens, as I had the opportunity to "play," to explore and experience the magic of the grand stage like the stage of the National Theatre, playing classical dramas, speaking lines in verse (a special skill and challenge for any actor, especially a young one), and then to transition into a completely different genre like musical theatre, where you sing, dance, and act, making it incredibly demanding on many levels, while the media promotion resembled Broadway. Both plays were produced almost simultaneously, and after finishing the series in Sarajevo, I portrayed a character utterly different from both French classics and Broadway musicals – a sassy, sort of good-looking, fallen girl from the lower classes. All three projects were successful, and their legacy endures today, although the start of the Bosnian war interrupted the series.
The war disrupted my entire generation. To say the least, it was a disruption. Some lost their lives, and others had their wings clipped. We all felt its effects in some way. It marked the beginning of trying to navigate the storm of sanctions and inflation, performing smaller plays in private settings, touring the country, often performing in non-theatrical spaces, with our pay swallowed by currency fluctuations by the end of the day. We acted for half a German mark per performance in professional theatres... There weren’t as many actors in Serbia as there are today, as private acting schools had just begun to open. Fortunately, the RTS produced several projects where many actors had the chance to work. That’s how I played Keti in Happy People, and later Kiki Jakšić in Up and Down—a series that spoke about the 1990s, the collapse of the middle class, the rise and fall of numerous criminals, and the erosion of moral values. In those turbulent times, sometimes there was work, and sometimes there wasn’t. Uncertainty loomed everywhere, and a few of us actors, either individually or collectively, decided to try our hand at a field we hadn’t formally trained in but were familiar with – film production.
Production
I was 25 years old when I founded a limited liability company for film production and distribution. Sitting on the floor of my room, I made my first call to a potential donor... The first call was successful, and the ball started rolling. Film production became my second profession. I was self-taught, with the help of advice from excellent mentors like the experienced executive producer Miša Đorđević, with whom I worked for many years. I won’t go into more detail about my beginnings; this is just a brief reminder of some snippets from the start, as my adventure with film production began my journey into changing professions, daring to pursue various interests, of which, admittedly, I have many. So, to finally return to the beginning and your question as to why I’m not involved in new film and TV projects: it’s for several reasons and due to various circumstances, but above all, it’s because my wide range of interests continuously challenges me.
In less than ten years, from the age of 25 to 35, I produced four feature films, winning numerous awards both domestically and internationally, one medium-length film as the graduation work of a debutant director, a TV series, and a range of shorter TV forms. From the age of 35, I began writing. First, it was a children’s fairy tale in dramatic form, My Friend Under-the-Bed Darkness by Vera Čukić, for which I wrote the songs, and the review was penned by the exceptional poet and writer Milovan Mića Danojlić. Then came novels published by Laguna, in multiple editions: My Only Life, Ice (chosen by Serbia’s public libraries as one of the five most-read books that year), Head-hunters, and a collection of columns and stories, Ordinary People, published by Plato, for which the brilliant writer David Albahari, by his own request, wrote the foreword. Before that book came my five-year stint writing monthly columns for Politika, where I was invited to contribute by the editor. Writing greatly invigorated and consumed my artistic being. Now, I collaborate with Politika again, with my columns, in story form, appearing every other Monday.
A Volunteer at the Monastery
At the same time, I am engaged in another activity that holds special significance for me. I volunteer in the restoration of Rajinovac Monastery in Begaljica, close to Belgrade, near Grocka. My volunteering involves securing donations for the restoration, reconstruction, and/or construction of the entire monastery, including the church and residence. Together with Archimandrite Serafim Kužić, the church superior, we have just completed the full reconstruction of the roof of the Church of the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God, which was a major undertaking. So far, we’ve paved the access road, paths on the property, and stone-paved all the walkways around the church and residence. The woodwork on the church, chapel, and guesthouse has been restored. Now, something particularly special is underway—the restoration and formation of the monastery’s library as part of the spiritual side of the restoration. We are also planning to restore the monastery cemetery and address the issue of the landslide on the hill where the cemetery is located. Naturally, this all means a lot to me because my father, Gordan Mihić, rests there in peace.
On my father
I still can’t talk about my dad. It’s been five years since his passing. When it comes to working with him, the first thing that comes to mind is the cult film The Elusive Summer of 1968, in which I played the role of Vladica. There’s also the irresistible film Happy Family, which my dad both wrote and directed. My mum Vera played my mother in the film, and as a nine-year-old girl, it was my first movie. I also have a great fondness for the entirely avant-garde, surrealist film Crows. And now, I could go on listing his entire body of work!
Moving to the Countryside
The house we live in was started by my parents when I was born. I treat it as my birth home. Every tree on the property, every shrub and fruit tree, was planted by my parents and later by me. As a child, I spent my holidays here, playing explorer, building a treehouse, forming a group called the Red Dragon, swimming in the Danube, riding my bike from morning till night... As a young woman, I used every free day to come here because nature is an environment that inspires me, gives me strength and willpower. The Danube is nearby, and the view of its blue expanse, its powerful waves, and the strong current of the water sparks dozens of good ideas and plans for their realisation. Everything here is more inspiring to me than in the city. Here, the open sky is almost constantly in my field of vision because I’m always outdoors, while in the city, the ceiling is my view. Wherever I look here, I see tree canopies, while in the city, I see building walls covered in graffiti and scribbles. Come autumn, I’m preparing for even more involvement in the local community of the Grocka Municipality, where I live, to improve daily life for all of us here.
On my plans
I’ve had much success with the films She Loves Red Star, Buy Me an Elliot, The Mechanism, and Poor Little Hamsters 2010. For my role as Snežana in The Mechanism, I won an international award for best actress at the Alexandria International Film Festival. I’m also preparing something new. Next year, as a producer, I’ll be working on the film Rajko Mitić, based on Gordan’s screenplay, which received funding in the Serbian Film Centre’s competition. It’s still too early to talk about details, except to say that the director of the film and series will be the wonderful Miroslav Lekić.
A Final Message
My life has always been very dynamic, with numerous contacts with people from different walks of life. I’m very sociable, approachable, and interested in people. I also love the animal kingdom, as we live in nature and have direct, daily contact with animals, with whom I have a great mutual understanding. Living in a house in nature also requires constant physical activity; there’s always work to be done—something to fix, clean, or restore... I live a life full of challenges and changes. Am I satisfied with what I’ve achieved? I’m content, but I still have many ideas and plans. Tomorrow is always a new day. And my greatest joy is in giving and extending a hand of friendship.