26.04.2011.

Minister visits the set of the Military Academy series

Today at the grounds of the Military Academy the shooting of television series "Military Academy" written by Gordan Mihic and directed by Dejan Zecevic started. Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac visited the set and spoke with the camera crew and the cast on that occasion.

- The idea for this project has been present for a long time, and today I was convinced that that the young and talented actors guided by a great director and screenplay writer will satisfy all those who love our Army and Military Academy, and also help those who are thinking about enrolling into the Military Academy, while also bringing back the memories of cadet days.

This is a project supported by the Ministry of Defence, which strives to depict the life and work of cadets, officers and noncommissioned officers of the Serbian Armed Forces- said Sutanovac after talking to the crew. He expressed confidence that the series of "Military Academy" will have many viewers and will bring the military schools closer to the young people in Serbia.

Sutanovac reminded the present that the number of prospective applicants for admission to the Military Academy had a reached an all time high in the last few decades, as more than 1350 young people had applied for 180 vacancies.

- These data suggest that in the years to come we will have a better generation of officers in our army, which was one of the goals of management of the Ministry of Defence - said the minister.

According to the screenwriter Gordan Mihic, after many months of hard work the shooting of "Military Academy" series finally began today, even though he at first thought that the whole project was doomed to failure as he knew little about the military.

- I realized that the only possible way to learn something was to come to the Academy and talk with cadets, officers and support staff on daily basis especially with psychologists, and thus learn about their life. I even attended lectures - Mihic said.

The actors depicting the lives of cadets and future pilots, engineers and infantry members are Radovan Vujovic, Nikola Rakocevic, Ivan Mihailovic, Branko Jankovic, Bojan Peric, Kristina Pecencic, Dragan Dabovic, Tamara Dragicevic, Anja Stanic, Elizabeta Orasanin and Iskra Brajovic. The more experienced part of the crew consists of director Dejan Zecevic and actors Ljubomir Bandovic, Nebojsa Milovanovic, Branislav Lecic, Ivana Mihic, Dara Dzokic, Voja Brajovic.

Gordan Mihic, the screenwriter, made sure that the lives of cadets are depicted realistically so he turned the Military Academy into his work place. Thus he was able to create a scenario based on true events, imbued with a special sense of humor and unusual love plot. The main characters have all enrolled the Academy for various reasons and their stories are different - some of them grew up in foster homes, one of cadets was a leader of the fans, there is a son of a wealthy, former gastarbeiter, and there are ladies at “men’s studies”

The Serbian Ministry of Defense, the Military Academy and all its members are patrons of the shooting of the series and produced by NIRE PRO for Radio Television of Serbia. Sixteen one-hour episodes will be shown on Channel RTS in the fall, and the following year.