SHOT THROUGH THE HEART -SYNOPSIS

It's springtime in Sarajevo, and everything seems as peaceful
as it was eight years earlier, when the world tuned in to
watch the 1984 Winter Olympic Games. Best friends Vlado
(Linus Roache) and Slavko (Vincent Perez) are en route to
Vlado's country house, where they will join to Vlado's wife
Maida (Lia Williams) and young daughter Nadja (Karianne
Henderson), as well as another close friend, Misho (Adam Kotz)
and his family. As they indulge in their favorite pastime,
long-distance shooting from a minimum of 100 meters, it 
seems like old times for these former teammates on the
Yugoslavian Shooting Team.

On their way back to the city, the family is shaken as 
several soldiers appear on the road, demanding to see
Vlado's papers. Insulted, Vlado flatly refuses and drives
off, but a third soldier is pointing his rifle at their
windshield. Slavko confidently takes control as he gets
out of the car, identifies himself as a Serbian and plants
some money into the soldier's hand. The next morning,
there are news reports that Radavan Karadzic, the new
leader of the Bosnian Serbs, has announced the creation
of a new Serbian Republic of Bosnia. Although the television
news is reporting that there have been unprovoked attacks
by Serbians on Muslims in the countryside, Vlado refuses 
to panic, assuring his family that the attacks will not
occur in a European city like Sarajevo.

Tension soon escalates, however, and Muslim civilians
begin to flee. Gas prices rise, and black marketers are
soon exploiting those in need of transportation out of
the country. Vlado is ranting angrily about the panic
when Slavko comes by for a visit and announces that he
has been called up into the Serbian army. Maida is shocked
and angry, and voices her belief that Slavko does not
have to go. Seemingly aware of the dangers that are about
to surround the city, as well as his Muslim friends, Slavko 
announces that he can get Vlado and his family out of the
city with three plane tickets for an exorbitant amount
of money. Maida becomes incensed, accusing Slavko of
wanting to profit from the refugees, while Vlado refuses
to give up the business where he has worked so hard for
the past 15 years.

A few nights later, everything appears still and quiet, but 
suddenly the windows explode, shattering glass onto their
bodies. Amidst the chaos, Vlado and his family run into
the street, dodging missiles and explosions. They run to
their friend Misho's family. Concerned about Slavko's
safety, Vlado races to his apartment only to discover
that it has been abandoned. His friend is now a member of
the Serbian army. Meanwhile, the news reports that the
airport has been closed -- Sarajevo is under siege, and
civilians are handing out rifles to any man who will
take one.

Vlado is hesitant to join a volunteer army and fight the
Serbs, but when he sees how little the men seem to know
about handling guns, he begins to train them in the
rudimentary skills of shooting. A random attack by Serbian
soldiers in the hills subsequently forces Vlado to see
the violence that is ravaging the city.

He soon gets a surprising call from Slavko, now a Serbian
officer behind the front lines. Aware of the dangers ahead
in Sarajevo, he offers him one last chance to leave the 
city via an escape route through the mountains. Vlado
agrees that his wife and child should go, but they are
unwilling to leave the city without him. "We stay together,
Vlado", insists Maida.

Now reporting each day to a bunker in a bullet-strafed
building, Vlado is a sharpshooter who must try and defend
sniper attacks in Sarajevo. When Misho's young daughter
Lejla is shot on the street in front of her house, both
families are grief-stricken, but Misho is even more
inconsolable because he knows that Vlado had access to an
escape route and did not use it to rescue their families.
His wife and child grow bitter after the loss of their
young friend, and move to a safer part of the city.

As sniper attacks on civilians continue near a local water
supply, Vlado carefully studies the murders and determines
that the bullets are coming from one specific building.
Looking for further clues, Vlado takes the body of a dead
woman to Misho at the hospital for an autopsy and makes
a painful discovery: the unusual bullet is the unmistakable
signature of his friend Slavko.

Staking out the exact source of the gunshots, Vlado's
worst fears are confirmed when he sees Slavko, now a
Serbian army sniper, enter the building that is the source
of the enemy fire. A profound moral dilemma now confronts
Vlado: will he continue to allow the sniper to take the
lives of innocent civilians, or stalk the sharpshooter
who was his best friend and put an end to the madness?

Vlado tracks Slavko to a home on the outskirts of the city.
The war has rewarded him with a fine house, good liquor, 
and even a beautiful girlfriend. They embrace as best
friends would, but their eyes betray the inevitability
of this last meeting. Tomorrow, one of them will die.