18.06.2015.

â��Cizmasiâ�� in Pasuljane

At the mixed training ground Pasuljanske livade, the most interesting shots of the live-action series “Cizmasi” are being filmed, and the audience will be able to watch it starting this fall on Radio Television of Serbia. Before Pasuljane, the crew filmed in Senjski mines near Despotovac, where a part of the story takes place according to the novel, while first shots were filmed in late April in Belgrade barracks Topcider and Dedinje. Tomorrow, the crew moves to the next location, where the filming will be finished.

According to Chief of Command Staff Brigadier General Dejan Jankovic, this was another good cooperation between the Radio Television of Serbia and the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces.

- We have realized two joint projects in the course of marking the centenary of the Great War, documentary films “Serbia in the Great War” and “Milunka Savic”, and we are currently filming a documentary film “Serbs in Corfu” – Jankovic said, stressing that for the filming of the series Cizmasi the Armed Forces lent the infrastructure, barracks Topcider and Dedinje, the training ground, military equipment and arms, and that a large number of SAF members had been engaged in the filming.

The series producer Goran Susljik conveyed his gratitude to the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, stressing that, without their help, the project would not have been fully realized.

- I am happy that the soldiers, who acted as extras, also recognized the importance of the project, and I am grateful for their participation – Susljik said, stressing that the defence system had “fully stood by the production” in order to leave this masterpiece of Serbian literature to the future generations.

The filming in Pasuljane brought director Dejan Zecevic back to the days of filming of the renowned series “Military Academy”, only with the actors wearing uniforms from the Great War this time around. He stated that the cooperation with the SAF members was on a high level this time as well.

Actor Bogdan Diklic expressed great pleasure for being a part of the project that would significantly enrich the national cinematography.

The live-action series “Cizmasi” is a joint project of RTS and production house “Eye to Eye”, and the script was adapted by Djordje Mihajlovic based on the novel of the same name written by academic Dragoslav Mihailovic.

The film adaptation of the novel “Cizmasi” that received NIN’s award for the novel of the year in 1993, follows the life story of sub-officer of the former Yugoslav Army Zika Kurjak, from his childhood in the mining homeland, his military days, to severe depression, imprisonment and the capital’s sanatorium. Through 12 episodes, we will also see the key historical events of 20th century, and the fate of the heroic Serbian Army.

The acting team is headed by doyens of Serbian acting scene Aleksandar Bercek and Bogdan Diklic. With Miodrag Dragicevic, who plays the role of Kurjak, there is also Milica Mihajlovic, daughter of the writer of the novel, playing Kurjak’s mother. Among numerous extras, there are also “real” soldiers, wearing uniforms from the beginning of the past century.