Rastko Vujisić

Set ten years on from high school drama Next to Me, this film places the former classmates in unfamiliar territory, both physical and psychological.

Set five years on from the school days of director Stevan Filipovic's previous film Next to Me, a state of emergency exists and politicians are accused of capitalising on public anxiety around Covid-19, which makes the shocking situation that reunites the characters significantly more extreme. The story centres on Ksenija (newcomer Mina Nikolic), a driven young woman striving to move from tabloid hack to a career journalist in a world of click-bait headlines and showbiz scandals cooked up to feed the masses. Ksenija's personal and professional journey is hampered when Vera tests positive for Coronavirus and Ksenija must question how far she will bend to survive in a climate where political pressure is increasingly overt and can be said to capitalise on fear during the pandemic.

Musical takes place before summer break, six months before the original movie "Next to Me' takes place. Characters are more immature and younger than in the original movie, and with their actions lead others into unpleasant situations, sometimes even hurting them. Some of them learn something from their experiences, learn how to apologize and forgive, while others don't.

After being attacked by a group of masked hooligans, Olja discovers that some of her students were responsible. She decides to teach them a lesson by locking them in the school building and confronts them.

Mr. Stojanovic got his first aid kit stolen... Petar is smoking out the window of his rented room... Mr. Ivanovic has a hearing problem... Luka and Marko are getting into a fight over a football game... Mr. Filipovic is sent by his wife to buy groceries...