Battle of Kosare is a paradigm of how to defend one’s country and its borders. It is one of the most brutal and most formidable battles in recent Serbian history… Those who survived say it was hell on earth. How did it all start? And what happened at Kosare? New documentary by Slađana Zarić produced by Radio Television of Serbia and the Ministry of Defense (Military Cinema Center Zastava Film) offers answers to these questions. Documentary War Stories from Kosare chronologically depicts events that started on April 9, 1999, with the incursion at the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia border by Kosovo Liberation Army forces from the territory of Albania. Battle lasted 67 days, ending on June 14th, with the withdrawal of Yugoslav Army from the territory of Kosovo and Metohija after the ratification of Kumanovo Agreement.
108 Yugoslav Army soldiers lost their lives to mortars, snipers, outlawed cluster bombs… Average age of deceased soldiers and officers was 25.
Their last moments were documented through the testimonies of their comrades and dramatized re-enactments in this feature documentary with over 70 contributors from different units that took part in the battle of Kosare, including 53rd Border Battalion frontier sentries, members of the 125th Motorized Brigade, 63rd Parachute Brigade, 72nd Special Brigade and volunteers.
Reenactments were filmed at locations that resemble Prokletije Mountain peaks and Junik Mountains where Kosare are situated. Namely, most of the scenes were filmed on Kopaonik, Stara Planina, Vlasina and at the Pasuljanske Livade military drill grounds – in snow, fog and rain, on unfavorable terrain. All this in order to create a telling picture of the tragic moments that marked the momentous Battle of Kosare.
Once it became obvious that operation Arrow, as it was referred to in Albanian and NATO sources, had failed and when they realized that they couldn’t break through the Yugoslav Army line of defense, Kosovo Liberation Army soldiers abetted by NATO strategists launched the second land-based offensive on Pastrik, a mountain in the vicinity of Prizren.
Author of the film – Slađana Zarić
Directors of photography – Žarko Pekez and Petar Vujanić
Editor – Bojan Perišić
Producers – Snežana Rodić Sinđelić and Goran Ikonić
Journalist – Vesna Ilic
Music composed by Vladimir Tosic
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