The documentary film Soldier’s Love Forever, produced by VFC Zastava Film and Optimistic Film, directed by Željko Mirković, has received the Award for the best documentary film at the Rimini Film festivals in Italy, which is dedicated to the famous director Federico Fellini. The film has also been awarded in New York, at the International Network Film Festival (Keith Haring Pop Cinema Awards). This is the eighteenth award for this feature-length documentary film, and the 83rd for the director, Željko Mirkovć.
Soldier’s Love Forever has so far been awarded in Istanbul, for the best feature-length documentary film at the Best Istanbul Film Festival, won the Grand Prix at the domestic Zlatna Buklija festival, the award for the best director in London at the STANLEY FILM AWARDS International Film Festival, then the award for the best director at the Naples Film Awards International Film Festival, the award for the best documentary film at the Great Lakes International Film Festival, the award for the best feature documentary film at the Santa Monica Film Festival Awards, then the jury awards at the Hollywood Gold Award Film Festiva, the Milan Movie Award Film Festival, the New York Movie Award Film Festival, and an award for the Best Film in the selection “TV in focus” at the festival Prvi kadar in Republika Srpska.
According to the authors and producers, the documentary is a timeless story of the search for love and the meaning of life, told through the testimonies of the same heroes, young soldiers 20 years ago and today.
“20 years ago, after completing basic studies in film and TV directing, after basic training, I continued my military service at Zastava film. Soon we produced the intimate documentary film Soldier’s Love. It was a timeless story about my friends with whom I served the first part of my military service. These were young men with different destinies, from different parts of Yugoslavia at the time, immediately after the NATO air strikes in 1999. These young men lived their love stories in a unique way and dreamed about the future. Twenty or more years later, I decided to look for those guys with whom I once broke military bread and with whom we made the first film and to make a story about them and their values today, after so much time.” said the director, Dr. Željko Mirković.