Lucija Mrzljak

Lucija Mrzljak, born in 1990, in Zagreb, Croatia, is an accomplished animation film director and illustrator currently based in Tallinn, Estonia. She pursued studies in animation and illustration across several European cities, including Zagreb, Krakow, Prague, and Tallinn, culminating in a master’s degree from the Estonian Academy of Arts under the mentorship of Priit and Olga Pärn.

Since 2016, Lucija has directed several acclaimed animated short films produced at Eesti Joonisfilm studio in Tallinn and Adriatic Animation studio in Zagreb. Notable works include “A Demonstration of Brilliance in Four Acts” (2018), co-directed with Morten Tšinakov, which received multiple awards, including the Grand Prix at the Etiuda&Anima International Film Festival in Poland. Their subsequent collaboration, “Eeva” (2022), premiered at the Berlinale 2023, garnered numerous festival awards, was shortlisted for the 2024 Academy Awards, and received the Emile Award for Best Character and Background Design.

In addition to her directing work, Lucija has collaborated with musicians, creating the music video for “The Closing Door” (2019) for Oscar-winning musician Glen Hansard. In 2024, she collaborated with renowned Estonian musician Mari Kalkun, directing the music video for her song “Maaimä (Mother Earth)”. As a passionate illustrator, Lucija has published several children’s books and created posters for various film festivals. Since 2016, she has been a regular illustrator for the esteemed Estonian children’s magazine “Täheke”.

In her academic career, Lucija has taught at the Estonian Academy of Fine Arts and served as a lecturer at institutions such as Aalto University in Helsinki, Turku Art Academy of Applied Sciences in Finland, Lusófona University in Lisbon, and Aichi University of the Arts in Japan.