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FESTIVALS North Macedonia

European, world and queer cinema in the spotlight in Skopje

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- The 21st Skopje Film Festival brings a wide array of films to Macedonia from 19 to 26 April

European, world and queer cinema in the spotlight in Skopje
Year of the Monkey by Vladimir Blaževski

The Skopje Film Festival returns to the Macedonian capital this year for its 21st edition, running 19 to 26 April, with a programme that will feature a juicy selection of films coming from all over the world. In this 21st edition, the festival will shine a light on European and world cinema, but will also make room for recent Macedonian productions, as well as two thematic sections: the Queer Focus and the Alfred Hitchcock retrospective. 

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The festival kicked off yesterday with the world premiere of local filmmaker Vladimir Blaževski’s new film, Year of the Monkey [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Vladimir Blazevski
film profile
]
(a co-production between Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia and Kosovo). The Macedonian production selection, focused on short films (both fiction and documentaries), will feature works by Igor Ivanov, Konstantin Plevnesh and Miliana Lenak, among others.

As for European films, programmer Nawid Sarem has put together a handful of sections that showcase some of the most relevant recent titles: Roberto De PaolisPure Hearts [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Roberto De Paolis
film profile
]
, Ilian Metev’s ¾ [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ilian Metev
film profile
]
, Jonas Matzow Gulbrandsen’s Valley of Shadows [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jonas Matzow Gulbrandsen
film profile
]
and Isabella Eklöf’s Holiday [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Victoria Carmen Sonne
film profile
]
will feature in the European Film Programme, while the newest films by Nabil Ayouch, Muayad Alayan and Santiago Mitre, among others, will be in the Panorama World Cinema. The French Film Focus will put a spotlight on new talent (Christophe Régin’s On the Sly [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, Léa MysiusAva [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Léa Mysius
film profile
]
, Bertrand Mandico’s The Wild Boys [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bertrand Mandico
film profile
]
and Hubert Charuel’s Bloody Milk [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Hubert Charuel
film profile
]
) and the Author Film Programme (selected by festival director Tatjana Janevska) will welcome renowned names such as the Taviani brothers.

This year, the special focus is dedicated to queer cinema, through which, in the words of programmer Aleksandar Kovacevski, “the festival will make an attempt to open up topics on queer culture, to re-examine contexts, experiences and ideas through film shots, and to create an inclusive space where marginalized voices can be articulated.” The section includes Bruce LaBruce’s The Misandrists [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, Sebastián Lelio’s Disobedience [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, Marcio Reolon and Filipe Matzembacher’s Hard Paint and Eliza Hittman’s Beach Rats.

The festival, organised with the support of the Macedonian Film Agency and the City of Skopje, also includes an Alfred Hitchcock retrospective.

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