Mirjana Karanović on ‘Mother Mara’ Premiere and Her Roles as Director, Actor, Woman

On the eve of the world premiere of “Mother Mara,” her second feature as a director, Mirjana Karanović, the Balkan region’s most famous star, paid a visit to the Variety Lounge, hosted by the Sarajevo Film Festival and BH Telecom.

Just as with her first feature, “The Good Wife,” Karanović stars and takes co-writing credits in “Mother Mara.” She discussed how her roles as director, actor, and woman sometimes conflicted on her second feature, which was more challenging compared to her first.

Karanović shares that “Mother Mara” tells the story of a grieving woman who rediscovers her life force through a relationship with her late son’s friend. The film explores a successful woman defying convention by doing something deemed inappropriate for her age.

Identifying herself primarily as an actress, she expresses, “Directing and making movies give me so much pleasure. It’s so exciting. So, I always say theater is a marriage for me. And movies are adventures.”

Karanović also reveals plans for her third feature, which she intends to shoot next year. This upcoming project will explore a forbidden love story between two women.

Unconventional and strong women are very much within Karanović’s realm. Her leading roles in “Grbavica” by Bosnian director Jasmila Zbanic and “The Fraulein” by Croatian director Andrea Staka, both written specifically for her, inspired her to consider directing.

Reflecting on her journey, Karanović remarks, “I learned primarily that gentle women can be strong enough to be a leader of the film crew and to command everybody, not in a military sense, but in guiding them as the main person in the process. Previously, I thought that role was reserved for men.”

Source: Variety