site.btaSerbian-Bulgarian Film about PM Zoran Djindjic's Assassination Presented at Golden Rose Festival

A Serbian-Bulgarian series, Operation Sabre, was presented at a special event during the 42nd Golden Rose Bulgarian Feature Film Festival in Varna. The eight-hour series is directed by Goran Stankovic and Vladimir Tagic. Agitprop's Martichka Bozhilova is the Bulgarian producer.

The film tells the story of the assassination of Serbian prime minister Zoran Djindjic in 2003. Its world premiere was at Canneseries where it won the Special Interpretation Award for the superb cast: Dragan Micanovic, Milica Gojkovic, Lazar Tasic, Zlatko Buric, Jasna Djuricic, Dolya Gavanski, Linda Rousseva, Stefan A. Shtereff.

The series revisits the events after the prime minister's assassination, which plunged the country into chaos and led to the declaration of a state of emergency. The story is told through the eyes of a journalist, a police inspector and a young criminal.

The film is yet to have its Serbian premiere, which will be scheduled by Radio Television of Serbia, and will be broadcast in Bulgaria afterwards. Martichka Bozhilova, who presented the film at the Golden Rose Festival, said Operation Sabre is the most outstanding thriller made in the region, and she expects it to reach a huge audience.

This is a very daring project and the Serbian producers needed financial and creative support, she said. The series is the result of years of research and conversations with witnesses. It was of key importance that the investigating police officer agreed to talk about facts of the case, Bozhilova said. She considers the two filmmakers innovative: the film was shot with two hand-held cameras and features archive footage.

The filming of the series was kept secret because the subject has had serious political repercussions, which could have led to halting the project. It was very important to get recognition by the international community and after the Canneseries award, the film has entered other festivals around the world, the producer said.

Critics at the Golden Rose Festival were impressed by the documentary style filming. Bulgaria's involvement in such productions has a positive effect on filmmakers and society, according to the film critic, Prof Bozhidar Manov.