Cinema of the Republic of Macedonia
Encyclopedia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
dates back over 110 years. The first film to be produced on the territory of the present-day the country was made in 1895 by Janaki and Milton Manaki
Manakis brothers
The brothers Ianachia and Milton Manachia were pioneering photographers and filmmakers in the Balkans. In 1905 they filmed the first motion pictures in the Balkans in Ottoman Monastir...
in Bitola
Bitola
Bitola is a city in the southwestern part of the Republic of Macedonia. The city is an administrative, cultural, industrial, commercial, and educational centre. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba and Nidže mountains, 14 km north of the...
. From then, continuing to the present, Macedonian film makers, in Macedonia and from around the world, have been producing many films.
Throughout the past century, the medium of film has depicted the history, culture and everyday life of the Macedonian people. Over the years many Macedonian films have been presented at film festivals around the world and several of these films have won prestigious awards.
The first Macedonian feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
was Frosina, released in 1952. The screenplay was written by Vlado Maleski
Vlado Maleski
Vlado Maleski was a Macedonian writer, political activist, publisher and revolutionary...
, who wrote the lyrics for the Macedonian national anthem
Denes nad Makedonija
is the national anthem of the Republic of Macedonia. It was composed by Todor Skalovski and the lyrics were written by Vlado Maleski in 1941. It was used by ASNOM and later performed as a popular song of the Macedonians during the time of Socialist Republic of Macedonia, a part of Yugoslavia...
, and it was directed by Kiro Bilbilovski. The first feature film in colour was Miss Stone, a movie about a Protestant missionary in Ottoman Macedonia
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. It was released in 1958.
The most famous Macedonian director is Milčo Mančevski
Milco Mancevski
Milcho Manchevski , usually credited as Milcho Manchevski, is a film director and screenwriter from Macedonia.-Biography:Milcho Manchevski wrote and directed the feature films "Before the Rain" , "Dust'" , Shadows" and "Mothers" , over 50 short forms, including “TENNESSEE” for Arrested Development...
, whose debut feature film Before the Rain
Before the Rain (film)
Before the Rain is a 1994 Macedonian film starring Katrin Cartlidge, Rade Šerbedžija, Grégoire Colin, and Labina Mitevska. It was directed and written by Milčo Mančevski. The music was created by the band Anastasia.-Plot:...
was nominated for an Academy Award.
The highest grossing feature film in the Republic of Macedonia was Bal-Can-Can
Bal-Can-Can
Bal-Can-Can is a 2005 Macedonian–Italian joint production film about a deserter who travels throughout the Balkans as a political immigrant in search of his dead mother-in-law who is wrapped in a carpet.-Cast:-Reception:...
, having been seen by over 500,000 people in its first year alone.
See also
- Cinema of the world