With this documentary film dedicated to Milojko Kostić, a Serbian soldier from World War I and sergeant of the second company of the 12th Infantry Regiment “Tsar Lazar,” we revisit century-old forgotten stories of courage and sacrifice. The Kostić family from his hometown Kaonik, who knew almost nothing about his fate, finally discovered his resting place after 104 years. Milojko Kostić endured the Albanian Golgotha, and after receiving treatment in France at a military station in Toulon, he passed away one year after the war ended. At the Saint-Mandrier military cemetery today stand memorials of twenty-two Serbian soldiers, whose marble plaques testify to the friendship and sacrifice they shared alongside their French comrades.
This half-hour film, produced by the Kostić family and a team from Radio Television Serbia, will be screened at the Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade (cinema hall, entrance from Uzun Mirkova Street) on Thursday, November 14, 2024, at 7 PM.
After the film screening, a discussion will follow about the great French Marshal and honorary Serbian Duke, Louis Franchet d’Espèrey, who was the supreme commander of the Allied armies on the Salonika front. Military historian and retired colonel Frédéric Gelton from France and Stanislav Sretenović, historian and senior research associate at the Institute for Contemporary History of Serbia, will share their insights on d’Espèrey’s military career, his personality, and the mutual respect between him and the Serbs during the Great War. D’Espèrey always emphasized the exceptional bravery of the Serbian army and its vital contributions to the Allies’ ultimate victory.
The evening commemorating the courage and sacrifice of Serbian and French soldiers in the Great War is organized by the French Embassy and the French Institute in Serbia, in collaboration with the Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade. The discussions will be held in Serbian and French, with translation provided. Admission is free.
Join this remarkable event and be part of a story of unforgettable courage and enduring friendship between Serbia and France.
Institut français de Serbie / French Institute in Serbia
EU National Institutes for Culture
EU in Serbia
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