Šime Šimatović

27.10.1919, Perušić - 02.11.2016, Zagreb

 

Director
He studied at an acting school in Zagreb and afterwards studied at the University of Philosophy. In 1943, with his colleagues from the Croatian National Theatre, he joined the Partisans. During that time, he founded the Central Theater Company and wrote the only partisan theatre play, Pobjeda nije mramor. Following the war, he was the art director at Jadran Film, and afterwards studied film directing in Prague. In the mid-1950s, he became the first director of Zagreb Film. He directed more than twenty documentaries, such as Plitvička jezera (1956), which won an award in Berlin, and Turnir kandidata (1959), as well as the feature documentary film Zagreb za slobodu (1987). He is the author of three feature-length films, of which the most famous is Pustolov pred vratima (Adventure at the Door, 1961, based on the novel by Milan Begović), which was one of the first Croatian and Yugoslav films of psychological orientation. He finished his career with two documentaries - Mimara (1991) and Zvonici Like (The Bell-Towers of Lika, 1992).

Filmography


Films by this director

Adventure at the Door

(Jadran film, 1961)

Directed by: Šime Šimatović
PHOTOGRAPHY: Branko Blažina
Synopsis:

Young Agneza is treated for psychological problems in a sanatorium. Her problem is that she cannot distinguish dreams from reality. She is especially disturbed by love letters that she receives from a stranger who may be the man of her life. However, her husband does not think much of those letters. When a man in a multicolored vest declares his love, she thinks that he may be the author of love letters…

digital, b/w, 82 min

Kameni horizonti

(Jadran film, 1953)

Directed by: Šime Šimatović
PHOTOGRAPHY: Branko Blažina
Synopsis:

Primorsko zaleđe, 1940. Siromašni Jakov odvodi kćer Malu gazdi Roku Pajdagraciju, koji ju prima u službu kao sluškinju. Radeći za gazdu, Mala bi trebala otplatiti očev dug. Poslije Pajdagracijeve smrti, Mala ulazi u službu gostioničara Rude Amerikanca, odakle ju otac odvodi te joj novu službu nalazi u imućnom buržujsko-plemićkom domu. Ona ni tamo dugo ne ostaje, pa se Jakov sam zapošljava - kao štrajkolomac. Naposljetku starac nalazi smrt u moru, a Mala se opet nalazi...

digital, b/w, 72 min

Naši se putovi razilaze

(Jadran film, 1957)

Directed by: Šime Šimatović
PHOTOGRAPHY: Vodopivec Frano
Synopsis:

Zagreb u vrijeme Drugog svjetskog rata. Ilegalka Vjera raskida s kolegom Mirkom, priznavši mu da se zaljubila u Vilka Klančara, impresionirana njegovim držanjem na policijskom ispitivanju. Vjera i ne sluti da je Vilko tom prigodom postao denuncijant i da će kriva ljubavna procjena ugroziti njezine najbliže… Žanrovski koncipiran kao spoj melodrame i urbanog ratnog trilera, kao i brojni drugi, osobito stariji, naslovi hrvatske kinematografije, ni ovaj film nije javno prikazivan.

digital, b/w, 95 min

Dioklecijanova palača

(Zora film, 1960)

Directed by: Šime Šimatović
PHOTOGRAPHY: Oktavijan Miletić
Synopsis:

Opis povijesti Dioklecijanove palače u Splitu i prikaz njenih mnogobrojnih fasada, stupova i podrumskih hodnika.

b/w, digital, 11 min

Antun Augustinčić

(Zagreb film, 1960)

Directed by: Šime Šimatović
PHOTOGRAPHY: Oktavijan Miletić
Synopsis:

Prikaz ateljea u kojem radi kipar Antun Augustinčić praćen opisom njegovih djela s naglaskom na radove s tematikom NOB-a.

b/w, digital, 12 min

Plitvička jezera

(Jadran film, 1956)

Directed by: Šime Šimatović
PHOTOGRAPHY: Frano Vodopivec
Synopsis:

Opisuju se ljepote Plitvičkih jezera, njihov izgled u raznim godišnjim dobima i legende o nastanku imena pojedinih jezera.

b/w, digital, 11 min

Ping-pong

(Zagreb film, 1960)

Directed by: Šime Šimatović
PHOTOGRAPHY: Mihael Ostrovidov, Jure Ruljančić, Miodrag Grbić, Davorin Supek
Synopsis:

Prikaz Drugog europskog prvenstva u stolnom tenisu održana u Zagrebu s umetnutim šaljivim opisom povijesti stolnog tenisa.

b/w, digital, 11 min

Ivan Meštrović

(Zora film, 1962)

Directed by: Šime Šimatović
PHOTOGRAPHY: Oktavijan Miletić
Synopsis:

Opisuju se Meštrovićeve umjetnine izložene u Splitu: spomenici u centru grada, kiparska djela iz njegove galerije te, posebice, reljefi u drvetu iz Kašteleta.

sepija, digital, 11 min
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