10/09/2025 - The film follows two young strangers who cross paths during a summer night of protests in Belgrade, searching for freedom and connection while the city is ablaze

Andrija Krivokapić and Lena Trifunović on the set of Until the Day Ends (© Nikola Stojanović)

Serbian editor and documentary director Jelena Maksimović has completed principal photography and entered post-production on her debut fiction feature, Until the Day Ends (Do kraja dana). The shoot wrapped last month in Belgrade after 20 days of filming across multiple locations, including Zemun, Novi Sad and Deliblato Sands.

The story unfolds over the course of a single summer night. Lena, a 20-year-old escaping an oppressive family environment, encounters Stefan, two years her senior, who shares her desire for acceptance and freedom. Drawn into the pulse of the city, they navigate waves of unrest. As protests erupt, they join demonstrations fuelled by the unstoppable dissatisfaction of the people. One night. Two lost souls. A city on fire.

The leading roles are played by Lena Trifunović as Lena and Andrija Krivokapić as Stefan. They are joined by Irina Hotomski (Slavna), Stefan Tarabić (Nemanja), Nataša Radenković Čakardić (Marijana) and Miodrag Dragičević (Milan).

The screenplay was co-written by Maksimović together with Olga Dimitrijević, her collaborator on the documentary Homelands [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], and Montenegrin director Ivan Salatić, with whom she also worked as an editor for You Have the Night [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ivan Salatić
film profile] and Wondrous Is the Silence of My Master [+see also:
film review
interview: Ivan Salatić
film profile]. According to the director, the film is about a love that emerges in the heat of summer, set against the backdrop of student and civic protests surging through the streets of Zemun and Belgrade. She also mentioned that despite Lena and Stefan coming from very different worlds, they are united by the same longing for freedom. Their escape from family turmoil and a city in upheaval eventually leads them into nature, the only space where they can find peace and envision a shared political horizon.

As an editor, Maksimović has worked on Depth Two [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and The Load [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ognjen Glavonić
film profile] by Ognjen Glavonić, Celts [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Milica Tomovic
film profile] by Milica Tomović and Possibility of Paradise [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mladen Kovačević
film profile] by Mladen Kovačević, among others. She has directed two documentary films, Taurunum Boy [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] along with Dušan Grubin, and the aforementioned Homelands, which was screened at Cinéma du Réel and FID Marseille. Besides filmmaking, she has collaborated extensively in the domains of video art, spatial installations and theatre productions.

Behind the camera is German cinematographer Paul Spengemann (Skill Issue [+see also:
film review
interview: Willy Hans
film profile]), and the creative team includes production designer Livija Mikić, costume designers Milica Kolarić (Lost Country [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Vladimir Perišić
film profile]) and Barbi Drmota, editor Jan Klemsche (God Will Not Help [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Hana Jušić
film profile]), and sound designer Vladimir Živković.

Until the Day Ends is a Serbian-Bulgarian-Montenegrin-Slovenian co-production staged by Jelena Angelovski, of Belgrade-based Taurunum Film, in co-production with Nikolay Mutafchiev for PREMIERstudio, Dušan Kasalica and Ivan Salatić for Meander Film, and Miha Černec and Jožko Rutar for Staragara. The film is supported by Film Center Serbia, the Bulgarian National Film Center, the Slovenian Film Centre and Creative Europe – MEDIA. It is expected to premiere in spring or summer 2026.