THE BATTLE ON CEGAR HILL

The «Battle on Cegar Hill» is a unique attempt to represent well-known historical events from the First Serbian Uprising by using documentary – featured approach. It also uncovers the circumstances that led to the defeat of the Serbian insurgents trying to liberate the town of Nish, one of the most powerful Turkish strongholds on the Balkans in 1809. The film parallels the development of the historical events, mostly based on insufficient and pure chronicles of the times, and a unique love story that has become a part of folk tradition and local legend. Although the tragedy of the love between one of the Serbian Dukes and his fiancée reflects the fatal outcome of the Cegar Hill battle, through the symbolism of a «horse shoe» it also gives hope that the overall tragedy is not final. Structurally, the film is organized as a dynamic body of narrative and dramatized featured parts, while oppositions often emphasize numerous contradictories and great trials of the Serbian people and army. The “Battle on Cegar Hill” film highlights “the catastrophe at Kamenica” from an angle not so ordinary, trying to avoid stereotypes and speculations coming outside the history, and, at the same time attempting to include all the details important for the development and the very outcome of the battle at the village of Kamenica. One of the intentions of the film is to criticize the Serbian discord that was the main reason for the breakdown of the Serbian forces and the death of the brave Resava men, as well as the light motive of the overall Serbian history.