With her debut feature, the Serbian protest drama Until the Day Ends (Do Kraja Dana), Jelena Maksimović becomes the first female director from Serbia to bring a narrative feature to the official selection at the Venice Film Festival since Soja Jovanović’s Eagles Fly Early in 1966. That is likely to make for an emotional journey for the filmmaker to the festival, which just seems fitting. After all, an emotional, and intense, journey is also what the protagonists of her movie embark on.
The film, set against anti-government protests by students and others in the country’s capital, Belgrade, will world premiere in the Horizons (Orrizonti) section of the 83rd edition of the Italian festival on Sept. 10. Serbia has experienced its largest wave of student protests and civil unrest in decades since the collapse of a railway station canopy killed 16 people in November 2024.
Until the Day Ends stars Lena Trifunović as Lena, an anarchist student, and Andrija Krivokapić as Stefan, a working-class youth with friends who are pro-government loyalists. Forget Romeo and Juliet! Set against the backdrop of the student protests in and around Belgrade, the two may be on opposite sides of a deeply divided society, but fall for each other. When a stone is thrown and hits a policeman, Stefan fears he is to blame, leading the duo to flee the city together, adding a road movie vibe to the film.
Irina Hotomski, Stefan Tarabić and Miodrag Dragičević are also part of the cast. The director co-wrote Until the Day Ends with Olga Dimitrijevic and Ivan Salatic. Paul Spengemann (Der Fleck) is the cinematographer, and Jan Klemsche (God Will Not Help) the editor. Heretic is handling sales on the film.
If the film sounds like one for you to explore, THR can now exclusively premiere a clip from it ahead of its Venice debut. Caution: things get tense here! But you were likely already expecting that. So let me get out of your way so you can watch the exclusive clip from Until the Day Ends.
