FILM NEAR COMPLETION IN KOVILJ, EYES MAJOR INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS

BELGRADE, MARCH 5 /SRNA/ – The final scenes of the film "Linija", directed by Dragan Elčić and dedicated to legendary war surgeon Miodrag Lazić, are currently being shot in Niš, while the last clapperboard is expected to fall late next week at the Kovilj Monastery, where the first scenes of the film were also filmed, the film's director Slobodan Stojanović told SRNA.

Stojanović said it is quite certain that the film will be of very high quality, which is why the production has decided to present it at major international festivals in Moscow, Berlin, Cannes and others.

He reminded that participation in such festivals requires that a new film must not be screened even at closed projections until its festival run is completed, which is why the initial plan to premiere the film in September has been changed.

"It would be a shame for a project like this not to be seen by the world. That is the key moment," Stojanović told SRNA, adding that the Moscow International Film Festival scheduled for April next year is first in line.

He added that filming is nearing completion and that the crew is currently shooting scenes at the cemetery in Niš, at the grave of Dr. Lazić.

Stojanović said the film crew was honored that Dr. Lazić’s daughter, Nina Vujošević, took part in filming the scene at her father’s grave as a family member, noting that she performed the acting part well and will be credited in the film.

"I believe we are moving in the right direction to complete filming in the next four days," he said, adding that the last clapperboard should fall on March 13 at the Kovilj Monastery, where the first one was filmed, which would conclude the filming phase of the project, after which post-production will follow.

As the film's director, Stojanović said he is satisfied with the results so far, noting that the filming has been very well received by the local population in Istočno Sarajevo and Serbia.

"Everything we needed, we received. This is a nationwide project and a tribute to Dr. Lazić," Stojanović stressed.

He reminded that the message of the entire film is humanism, love and the struggle for one’s own people, but without hatred toward other nations.

According to him, this is an anti-war film based primarily on the humanity of Dr. Lazić and all the other doctors and people who made a great contribution and saved the lives of hundreds, perhaps even thousands of people through their dedication.

At the same time, he said, the goal is also to preserve the memory of the exodus as a biblical-scale scene experienced by the Serb people when they left their homes in Sarajevo so that Republika Srpska could survive and come into existence.

"This is an anti-war drama based on true events, shaped in an artistic way," Stojanović said.

Filming of the historical drama "Linija" began on August 16, 2025, at the Kovilj Monastery in Serbia. The film is inspired by themes from Lazić’s book "Diary of a War Surgeon", published by SRNA, in which he describes how he worked during the wars of the 1990s at the Serb wartime hospital "Žica" near Sarajevo and saved thousands of wounded people.

The film is directed by Dragan Elčić, with the screenplay written by Željko Pržulj. The role of Dr. Lazić is played by Aleksandar Lazić, while many actors from Serbia, Republika Srpska and abroad appear in the film.

The project is one of the larger regional film productions portraying wartime events and the humanity of Dr. Lazić, who died in Niš on April 14, 2020, as a result of the coronavirus.