The title derives from the ability of "Hamza" (played by Mustafa Nadarević) to draw perfect circles on paper.

After sending his wife (Gospoda) and daughter (Miranda) to Croatia, he finds two orphans Adis and Kerim, who have escaped a massacre in their own village, hiding in his home.

But the only way out is through the Sarajevo International Airport, which is a dangerous passage occupied and monitored by Chetniks and their death squads as well as snipers.

The screenplay was retooled during the siege while the director and writers took refuge in a Holiday Inn that had originally been constructed for the 1984 Olympics.

Filming began again in 1996 after the signing of the Dayton Peace Accord and after director Ademir Kenović had gotten permission from the United Nations, whose forces were still monitoring the area.