Venice-Bound Serbian Protest Drama ‘Until the Day Ends’ Boarded by Heretic (EXCLUSIVE)
Sales company Heretic has acquired world rights to "Until the Day Ends," the fiction feature debut of director Jelena Maksimović, which is set against the backdrop of Serbia's student protests. The film will have its world premiere in Venice's Horizons section in September, marking a notable showcase for a work rooted in recent Serbian political unrest.
The drama follows Lena, an anarchist student in Belgrade's anti-government movement, and Stefan, a working-class youth who ends up among pro-government loyalists; the two fall for each other across the divide and flee to a remote cabin after Stefan fears he caused a policeman's injury. The story is set amid Serbia's largest student protests in decades, which broke out after a railway station canopy collapse in Novi Sad killed 16 people, and draws on Maksimović's own adolescence in Zemun. She co-wrote the screenplay with Olga Dimitrijević and Ivan Salatić, casting mostly non-professional actors, with production led by Serbia's Taurunum Film alongside co-producers from Bulgaria, Slovenia, Germany and Montenegro.
In short
- Heretic acquires world rights to Serbian protest drama "Until the Day Ends"
- Film premieres at Venice's Horizons section in September
- Story inspired by Serbia's largest student protests in decades
Explained simply
"Until the Day Ends" is a debut feature film set during Serbia's ongoing anti-government student protests. It tells the story of two young people on opposite sides of the political divide—an anarchist student and a working-class youth who ends up among pro-government supporters—who fall in love and flee together to a remote cabin.
The protests began after a railway station canopy collapsed in the Serbian city of Novi Sad, killing 16 people. The demonstrations became Serbia's largest student-led protests in decades, fuelling deep political divisions among young people that form the emotional backdrop for the film.
Director Jelena Maksimović made the film as her first feature, drawing on her own childhood in the Serbian town of Zemun. It is a co-production between Serbia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Germany and Montenegro, representing a significant regional collaboration that will reach audiences worldwide.
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