Vjeran Miladinović (1 October 1958 - 22 February 2003), also known as Merlinka, was a transgender sex worker and actress best known for the 1995 film ''

Marble Ass ''Marble Ass'' ( sr-Cyrl, Дупе од мрамора) is a 1995 feature film by Serbian filmmaker Želimir Žilnik. It was screened at the Berlin Film Festival in 1995 and won a Teddy award as best feature. It was screened at many worldwide fest ...

'', directed by

Želimir Žilnik Želimir Žilnik ( sr-Cyrl, Желимир Жилник; ; born 8 September 1942) is a Serbian film director best known as one of the major figures of the Yugoslav Black Wave film movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Early life Žilnik was born in 19 ...

. Merlika identified as both gay and a crossdresser, and is believed to have been the first openly trans person in the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

Life

Merlinka was born in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

and during her childhood lived in an orphanage, was homeless, and lived with distant family. After high school, she came to live in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. In 1986, Merlinka participated in a public debate about homosexuality at the

Belgrade Youth Center Belgrade Youth Center (; abbr. DOB) is a cultural center in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, dedicated primarily to youth. History At the corner of the ''Dečanska'' and ''Makedonska'' streets, where the youth center is today, was the locati ...

, one of the first such public debates on the subject in the region. In the 1990s, she took part in Arkadija events. Merlinka had the leading role in the 1995 movie ''

'' directed by

. Merlinka published an autobiography in 2001, named ''Teresa's son''. The title of the book references Merlinka's mother, Tereza Strmečki. Merlinka was murdered in Belgrade during the night of 22 March 2003, at the age of 43. Her body was found a month later. A suspect was arrested for her murder, but was later freed of charges.

Legacy

In 2009, the Gay Lesbian Info Centre and

founded the International Queer Film Festival Merlinka, named in Merlinka's honor. In March 2013, the tenth anniversary of her death, the festival held a special program about Merlinka's life. In July 2013, a plaque honoring Merlinka was put up anonymously in Belgrade.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miladinović, Vjeran 1958 births 2003 deaths 2003 murders in Serbia 20th-century Croatian actresses 20th-century Croatian LGBTQ people 20th-century Serbian actresses 20th-century Serbian LGBTQ people 21st-century autobiographers 21st-century Croatian LGBTQ people 21st-century Croatian non-fiction writers 21st-century Croatian women writers 21st-century Serbian LGBTQ people 21st-century Serbian women writers 21st-century Serbian writers Actresses from Belgrade Actresses from Zagreb Croatian LGBTQ actors Croatian LGBTQ rights activists Croatian LGBTQ writers Murdered actors Murdered sex workers People murdered in Serbia Serbian autobiographers Serbian LGBTQ actors Serbian LGBTQ rights activists Serbian LGBTQ writers Serbian murder victims Serbian transgender people Serbian sex workers Transgender actresses Transgender women writers Women autobiographers Writers from Belgrade Writers from Zagreb