MITRIĆ: REPUBLIKA SRPSKA HAS CAPACITY FOR MAJOR CINEMATIC PROJECTS

SOKOLAC, FEBRUARY 7 /SRNA/ – The production company Prvi kadar from Istočno Sarajevo said it is deeply honored to be part of the historic film project "Linija" which tells the story of Dr. Miodrag Lazić, the exodus of Sarajevo Serbs, and their ordeal, executive producer for Republika Srpska and director Vitomir Mitrić stated.

"Republika Srpska, together with our dear friends and partners from Serbia, is demonstrating that we have the capacity to produce such a complex film project, which I hope will be widely recognized on the global stage of cinema," Mitrić told journalists in the village of Žljebovi, where the final scenes are currently being filmed.

He expressed confidence that the film will be promoted at major international film festivals thanks to its excellent direction, screenplay, production quality, patriotic support from over a thousand extras, and the contributions of many owners of trucks, cars, and other vehicles.

"This level of engagement from extras and technical resources has rarely been seen in the film world," Mitrić emphasized.

He, along with other members of the film crew, expressed gratitude to the citizens of the Sarajevo-Romanija region and the local authorities of Istočno Sarajevo and its municipalities for their exceptional support and concrete assistance.

The final scenes of "Linija", a historical anti-drama inspired by Dr. Miodrag Lazić’s War Diary, began filming today in the villages of Žljebovi and Sokolovići near Sokolac.

The film is based on a screenplay by director and professor Dragan Elčić and writer Željko Pržulj, highlighting the epic exodus of 120,000 Serbs from Sarajevo. The cross, symbolizing suffering and pain, was carried by Sarajevo Serbs during the post-Dayton, biblical exodus, as they chose Republika Srpska and freedom within it over their former homes.

The project is produced by Ramonda from Belgrade, with Goran Ikonić as producer. The Prvi kadar production company from Istočno Sarajevo serves as executive producer for Republika Srpska.

The film is dedicated to the life and work of wartime surgeon Dr. Miodrag Lazić (1955–2020), a renowned humanist who saved lives during the wars of the 1990s in Republika Srpska Krajina and Republika Srpska.

Lazić left his position as a surgeon in Niš in 1991 to volunteer in the then Republika Srpska Krajina. During the war, he participated in the June 1992 corridor breakthrough and subsequently joined the wartime hospital Koran in Pale as a volunteer.

He was also a founder of the Žica wartime hospital in Blažuj near Sarajevo, where he served 40 months as the sole surgeon in the area of then-Serb Sarajevo, performing over 3,500 surgeries under full anesthesia.

Dr. Lazić passed away on April 14, 2020, in Niš.