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    • NTC Award Ceremony
      New Talent Competition gives young filmmakers from Central, Eastern and Southern Europe the opportunity to present their outstanding debut or second film to the public. Join us on Sunday 1 December at 19h
    • Music at ENFF
      The Eastern Neighbours Film Festival welcomes special musical guests each year to enrich our program. For this 16th edition, we’re thrilled to present two talented young musicians: guitarist Antonio Peršak (CR) and violinist İdil Yunkuş (TR). Together, they will perform a traditional Balkan dance and folk song, highlighting the beauty of this music through the… Read more: Music at ENFF
    • Masterclass with Janez Burger
      This masterclass presents a unique opportunity to explore Burger's distinct storytelling style, genre use, and exploration of contemporary social issues. Join us on Saturday 30 November at 17h - Room 5
    • Panel Discussion: Exploration of individual and collective memory in cinema
      Panel Discussion: Exploration of individual and collective memory in cinema on Friday 29 November at 18h

The Secret Ingredient

DirectorGjorce Stavreski
ProducerGjorce Stavreski – Fragment Film; Konstantina Stavrianou, Irini Vougioukalou – Graal S.A.
CastBlagoj Veselinov, Anastas Tanovski, Aksel Mehmet, Aleksandar Mikic, Miroslav Petkovic, Dime Iliev
WriterGjorce Stavreski
EditorMartin Ivanov
CameraDejan Dimeski
MusicBranislav Nikolov, Pece Trajkovski, Goce Jovanoski
Original TitleISCELITEL
Year2017
Length102 min
CountryMacedonia, Greece
SubtitlesEnglish
SectionEXCITING, CURRENT CINEMA
ScreeningFriday 9 November | 21:45 hours | Filmhuis Den Haag

‘’Tragicomic gem that could well end up charming its way into niche distribution beyond the festival circuit.’’ – The Hollywood Reporter. The screening will be followed by Q&A with the director Gjorce Stavreski. Dutch Premiere

Synopsis

Social distress, economic hardship, attempted suicide, family tragedy, illegal drugs, violent thugs and late-stage, metastasized lung cancer are the ingredients of this intriguing debut film about good intentions going really bad. The story follows Vele, an underpaid train mechanic who uses stolen marijuana to make a cake for his father to relieve his cancer pain. Suddenly, he finds himself cornered by the criminals who want their drugs back and the nosy neighbours who want the recipe for the “healing cake”. Expecting the worst, all of sudden an actual miracle occurs… This fantastic black comedy is Macedonia’s submission for the Oscars.

Festivals & Awards (selection)

LET’S CEE, 2018 – Best Debut Film | Sofia IFF, 2018 – Special Mention | Santa Barbara IFF, 2018 – Best International Feature | Aubagne IFF, 2018 – Best Feature Film | Bergamo Film Meeting, 2018 – Best Film | Thessaloniki Film Festival, 2017 – Audience Award | Tallinn Black Nights FF, 2017

Director’s bio

Gjorce Stavreski graduated from the department of film direction at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Skopje. He is an awarded film and video professional who has made films, documentaries and over 100 commercials, working as director, producer and screenwriter. His films were shown on many festivals throughout the world where he has won international awards. He was a math prodigy as a kid and is a recipient of a prestigious national award “13th of November” for math and sciences.