5 Macedonian movies you should definitely watch

When you are travelling it is normal that you are interested in discovering different aspects of the country that you are visiting, and not visiting only the main touristic spots. So for people who are interested in discovering something more of the Macedonian cinematography, I made a list with top 5 Macedonian movies that you should definitely watch before or after visiting Macedonia.

1. Before the rain, 1994, written and directed by Milcho Manchevski 
   Before the Rain tells the stories of an orthodox Christian monk, a British photo agent, and a native Macedonian war photographer to paint a portrait of simmering ethnic and religious hatred about to reach its boiling point. This gripping triptych of love and violence is also a timeless evocation of the loss of pastoral innocence, and remains one of recent cinema’s most powerful laments on the futility of war. Watch trailer HERE
2. Bal-kan-kan, 2005, directed by Darko Mitrevski
   A Macedonian military deserter and his Italian blood-brother are searching for a dead grandmother wrapped up in a stolen carpet, all over the Balkan’s criminal underworld. Watch full movie HERE
3. God exists, her name is Petruniya, 2019, directed by Teona Strugar Mitevska
   Every January in a small town in North Macedonia, the high priest throws a cross into the local waters, while dozens of men charge for it. The one who finds the cross is believed to gain overall good fortune and prosperity. An unemployed single young woman Petrunija jumps into the water and catches the cross. In this conservative setting, her competitors feel they have every right to be furious: a woman dared to compete and achieve what they failed to succeed in. Petrunija insists that she is the winner and refuses to return the cross. Watch trailer HERE
4. Willow, 2019, directed by Milcho Manchevski
   Three Macedonian women have to contend with control over their bodies, tradition, loyalty, pregnancy and adoption. They have not set out to change the world or society, but their struggle to become mothers makes them unlikely heroines. The three bittersweet stories, one medieval, two contemporary, mirror and contrast one another, exploring themes of love, trust and motherhood. Watch trailer HERE
5. Honeyland, 2019, directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov
   The last female beehunter in Europe must save the bees and return the natural balance in Honeyland, when a family of nomadic beekeepers invade her land and threaten her livelihood. This film which is filmed in Macedonia is an exploration of an observational Indigenous visual narrative that deeply impacts our behavior towards natural resources and the human condition. Watch trailer HERE