The months of merciless fighting in what remains of Yugoslavia, long a favorite location for low-budget filmmaking, have chased away most Western filmmakers.

Not producer Fred Weintraub.

Weintraub, who has made seven features in that country, including High Road to China, is currently filming Pickpocket, an under-$5 million romantic adventure, in Slovenia, a former province of Yugoslavia. The 11-week shoot began Oct. 1.

Produced by Weintraub and Tom Kuhn, the film stars Jim Metzler, English actress Claire Forlani, Nick Cassavetes and Zachery Bogatz. It is being directed by a Slovenian director who goes by the name of Vinci, from a script by Frank Encarnacao. The story concerns an American agent who falls for a wild gypsy woman.

Executive producers are Paul Lichtman and Arnold Fishman.

"Slovenia is not near the troubled areas at all", explained Weintraub, who just returned to Los Angeles from the location. "Bosnia and Herzegovina (where the worst fighting is taking place) are 300 miles away."

Weintraub said he, as well as most of the cast and crew, have brought clothes for the child refugees in Zagreb.

Along with filming in Zagreb, Weintraub said, the company is shooting in Lipica, home of the Lippizaner show horses. "We're using 200 Lippizaners in the film," he noted.

Pickpocket is fully financed by the Irish company Dewmaster Ltd., said Weintraub. Jadran Films, the government film company that is being privatized at the end of the year, is supplying some production facilities, he said.

The film has no distributor as yet, as Weintraub said he wanted to make the film without any pre-sales.

"I would do another film there immediately," said Weintraub. "It's safe."

Which is not to say there have been no casualties. Despite being warned against such a practice, executive producer Lichtman was bitten by a bear in the gypsy camp when he tried to feed it sugar.