Honeyland
Director | Tamara Kotevska, Ljubomir Stefanov |
Producer | Atanas Georgiev – Trice Films |
Writer | Tamara Kotevska, Ljubomir Stefanov |
Camera | Fejmi Daut, Samir Ljuma |
Editor | Atanas Georgiev |
Cast | Hatidze Muratova, Nazife Muratova, Hussein Sam |
Year | 2019 |
Length | 89 min |
Country | North Macedonia |
Subtitles | English |
Section | DOCUMENTARIES OPEN DEBATES / MASTERS OF TOMORROW |
Screening | Wednesday 9 December | 19:00 hours | LHC Utrecht |
The first documentary ever to receive Oscar nomination in two categories at this year’s Academy Awards. After premiere at Sundance FF, Macedonian film Honeyland swept dozens of awards on all continents. A beautiful and miraculous celebration of living with nature, and a celebration of the Eastern European documentary cinema.
Synopsis
Visually stunning, compelling and masterly narrated, this must-see epic makes us ponder over the delicate balance between nature and humans. Hatidze, a Macedonian village woman, devoted her whole life to beekeeping and selling honey. She lives high in the mountains, being isolated and lonely. She is probably the last female wild beekeeper in Europe who nourishes the ancient style of working, trying to save the bees and maintain the natural balance in their environment. Her Honeyland gets invaded by a big family of nomadic beekeepers, who make her happy and sad. Their bee keeping techniques threaten her wild bees and her own livelihood. This film revolves around Hatidze’s struggle to save the bees, her day-to-day modest surviving needs, while taking care of her old and bedridden mother. The directors, to whom this film is a debut in the feature-length production, observed for three years their protagonist patiently, meticulously investing not only time but lots of love as well.
The screening of this thought-provoking film with marvellous photography will be accompanied by SAMIR LJUMA, the director of photography who will give the MASTERCLASS after the screening on Wednesday 9 December in LHC Utrecht.
FESTIVALS & AWARDS
Academy Awards, USA 2020 – Oscar nominee | Sundance Film Festival, 2019 – World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize, Special Jury Award, Cinematography Award | Sarajevo Film Festival 2019 – Audience Award