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Honeyland

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  • Genre: Documentary

  • Release Year: 2019

  • Duration: 90 min

  • Directed by: Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska

Honeyland
Synopsis:

 

Nestled in an isolated mountain region deep within the Balkans, Hatidze Muratova lives with her ailing mother in a village without roads, electricity or running water. She’s the last in a long line of Macedonian wild beekeepers, eking out a living farming honey in small batches to be sold in the closest city – a mere four hours' walk away. Hatidze’s peaceful existence is thrown into upheaval by the arrival of an itinerant family, with their roaring engines, seven rambunctious children and herd of cattle. Hatidze optimistically meets the promise of change with an open heart, offering up her affections, her brandy and her tried-and-true beekeeping advice.

It doesn’t take long however, before Hussein, the itinerant family’s patriarch, senses opportunity and develops an interest in selling his own honey. Hussein has seven young mouths to feed and nowhere to graze his cattle, and he soon casts Hatidze’s advice aside in his hunt for profit. This causes a breach in the natural order that provokes a conflict with Hatidze that exposes the fundamental tension between nature and humanity, harmony and discord, exploitation and sustainability. Even as the family provides a much-needed respite from Hatidze’s isolation and loneliness, her very means of survival are threatened.

The debut feature from documentarians Ljubo Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska HONEYLAND was shot over three years by a skeleton crew committed to an intimate collaboration between filmmakers and subject. HONEYLAND is made with the widescreen sweep of an epic, visually ambitious and driven by an unexpectedly dramatic narrative and a surprising sense of humor. It’s a tough and tender portrait of the delicate balance between humankind and nature, a glimpse at a fast disappearing way of life, and an unforgettable testament to one extraordinary woman’s resilience.

Director Information:

Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska

Biography:

 

Ljubo Stefanov / Co-Director:

Born 1975 in Skopje. Over 20 years of experience in development and production of communication concepts and documentaries related to environmental issues and human development. Working for clients such UN agencies, Euronatur, Swisscontact etc. Previous films include “The Noisy Neighbours” (2005) and “Lake of Apples” (2017)

Tamara Kotevska / Co-Directo:

Born on 9th of August, 1993, in Prilep, Macedonia. Tamara won the Best Balkan Film award at the Tirana International Documentary Film Festival with her graduation documentary Studants (49’), supported by Trice Films and the Faculty of Dramatic Arts- Skopje. Her first professional environmental documentary Lake of Apples (27’), supported by UNDP (as writer and co-director) played at the International Nature Namur Festival, the Prix de l'environnement (2017) award in France, an Honorable mention at the Innsbruck Film Festival in Austria (2017), and the Perseus award at T-Festival in Brno, Czech Republic (2017)

13f99579b644d1425186d5fed5ceae50--nation
  • Genre: Documentary

  • Release Year: 2019

  • Duration: 90 minutes

 

  • Directed by: Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska

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