A Serbian family hopes to immigrate to Canada in 1999. As Vasiliye and Katarina Ostrogorsky wait for the response from the Canadian embassy on the status of their visa, their country comes under attack during the bombing of Yugoslavia. Their 12-year old son Georgey, who was already grappling with the idea of moving to Canada, now watches his father as he puts on his uniform and answers the call to mobilisation to defend a country which he was initially determined to leave.
“This is a film inspired by the last year my family and I lived together in our homeland. Coming back to revisit that time, now through the lens of the camera, brough back a new dimension of the place that lived only in my mind for almost three decades. This collaborative process helped me unravel some processes I though I resolved, opened new questions and transformed into something that will speak for itself”, Lee Filipovski said for FNE.
Lee Filipovski directs from her own script. The main cast is led by Filip Đurić, Milica Gojković, Bogdan Diklić, and Cintija Ašperger.
The film is produced by Nataša Damnjanović and Vladimir Vidić through Serbia’s Dart Film in coproduction with Anand Ramayya through Canada’s Karma Films, Leonidas Konstantarakos through Greece’s Alaska Films and Veronika Kuhrova through Czech Republic’s Analogue Vision. The project was supported by Film Center Serbia, Telefilm Canada, the Greek Film Center, the Czech Film Fund and Creative Europe MEDIA.
The shooting took place over the course of October and November 2025 on locations around Serbia (Niš, Niška Banja, Knjaževac, Belgrade).
The international crew includes Canadian cinematographer Nikolay Michaylov, Greek editor Stamos Dimitropoulos, costume designer Vasilia Rozana and makeup artist Ioanna Lygizou, and Czech production designer Andrijana Trpković.
The Myth of a Real Man is expected to premiere by the end of 2026 or at the beginning of 2027.
Production Information:
Producer:
Dart Film (Serbia)
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Coproducers:
Karma Films (Canada)
Alaska Films (Greece)
Analogue Vision (Czech Republic)
Credits:
Director: Lee Filipovski
Scriptwriter: Lee Filipovski
DoP: Nikolay Michaylov
Editor: Stamos Dimitropoulos
Production designer: Andrijana Trpković
Costume designer: Vasilia Rozana
Makeup artist: Ioanna Lygizou
Cast: Filip Đurić, Milica Gojković, Bogdan Diklić, Cintija Ašperger
