Hatidze approaches a beehive on a cliff But her quiet existence is fundamentally changed when the nomadic Sam family, consisting of parents with seven unruly children, a noisy vehicle and a large. Neon. Get The Latest IndieWire Alerts And Newsletters Delivered Directly To Your Inbox. We noticed you have an ad blocker on. Audience ratings certified by ACPM/OJD. I wondered why someone would agree to bare herself on camera this way. Directors Tamara Kotevska Ljubomir Stefanov Writers Tamara Kotevska Ljubomir Stefanov Stars Hatidze Muratova Nazife Muratova Hussein Sam We have no option but to cope with it somehow," said Georgiev, who also edited the film. He elaborated, "a sensitivity to both petty human concerns and striking natural beauty is what makes Honeyland a particularly enthralling documentary. "Half for me and half for you" is Hatidze's mantra, which she repeats as she tends to the bees on the mountain. Hatidze Muratova, the protagonist of "Honeyland. Malika is the protagonist . And that change speaks to a wider ethical conundrum that Mr. Stefanov and his colleagues have grappled with since finishing filming one that has long troubled documentary filmmakers. For more information about the series, and a complete schedule, visit IDA. When the filmmakers first met her, she was singing, Kotevska recalled when I interviewed her and Stefanov last week. "People love her. Calm and gentle, Ms. Muratova has a deep and respectful relationship with nature, treating her bees almost as collaborators. Honeyland. In Honeyland, Hatidze's echo of paradise is most certainly lost. As observers, should they ever help their subjects? Hatidze generously imparts her methods to him but, pressured by money-grubbing marketeers, he disregards the half-for-them-half-for-us rule and wreaks havoc on the region's beekeeping . Guests Expected. Hatide scolds Sam for ignoring her advice and her bee colony collapses. All Rights Reserved. BEKIRLIJA, North Macedonia When the producer and two directors of Honeyland returned to the setting of their documentary in North Macedonia for the first time since it earned two Oscar nominations in February, something fundamental had changed. Interviews with leading film and TV creators about their process and craft. She has survived for more than 50 years in the ruins of an abandoned village with no electricity or indoor plumbing, eking out her existence by journeying to the closest city to trade the honey for medicine and fruit. Kotevska says they were struck by how similar Hatidze was to a worker bee and how her mother resembled the queen bee. But the Honeyland directors, together with two cameramen, spent three years, on and off, visiting these families. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2023 demands. (2019)/(),(),Honeyland. "Honeyland" introduces us to Hatidze Muratova, a great character and a natural-born movie star. What caught the directors' interest early on was observing Hatidze's life and her relationship with her mother. Georgiev puts much of the film's phenomenal success down to Hatidze's "wonderful heart". [14] They spent the better course of three years visiting the families of the film. Moments before leaving, Mr. Sam pulled him aside to ask why he hadnt been in contact so much during the coronavirus lockdown. But it's a message which is in danger of being lost in the modern world. Gently placing it into Nazife's hands, the old woman's ruined face (one eye has been destroyed by a wound or infection . . Scott from The New York Times viewed Hatide as a "heroic figure" who sends a message to her "wasteful, wanton neighbors". When Hatidze went for a dress fitting for the Oscars in the North Macedonian capital Skopje, it took "20 minutes for her to walk 200 metres because so many people wanted to have a selfie with her," Georgiev revealed. What happened to Hatidze after Honeyland's opening sequence led Stefanov and Kotevska to devote three more years to filming her story and another year editing the four hundred hours of footage into eighty-five minutes. Her story is featured in "Honeyland," the first film ever to be nominated at the Oscars for both best documentary and best foreign language movie. But Kotevska's main impression of Los Angeles is: "From the tall buildings, I cannot see the stars.". And Hatidze Muratova, one of the hamlet's last inhabitants and the star of " Honeyland ," was still waiting for the. We are now very trained to see the stories that are created visually.". Hatidze Muratova. She lives in the ruins of a farming village several hours from the capital city of Skopje, a 50 . Like, for example, in the winter, when mother said there will be spring, something like that, was very [profound], he said. In one scene, one of the young sons is shown helping a cow give birth, while another boy attempts milking with his father nearby. Hatidze Muratova is a Macedonian beekeeper of Turkish ethnicity: Outside, she sings to the bees that she tends with an expert, traditional hand. This leads to Sam's colonies attacking Hatide's during the resource-scarce winter. The Oscar race is in full swing, and all eyes are on the big contenders: "Joker"! [40] According to the website's critical consensus, "Honeyland uses life in a remote village to offer an eye-opening perspective on experiences that should resonate even for audiences halfway around the world". It also made Ms. Muratova perhaps the worlds most famous beekeeper. "The mother and daughter story is so beautiful and almost mythological, but with the honey, there is conflict, capitalism and consumerism. Hatidze, star of the Oscar nominated Honeyland movie, gets a new house. When an unruly family moves in next door, what at first seems like a balm for her solitude becomes a source of tension as they, too, want to practice beekeeping, while disregarding her advice. "So, Hatidze's destiny was to stay and take care of her parents.". In the film, Nazife never leaves the house, but her wisdom guides her daughter at the time of crisis. The 225 Best Horror Movies of All Time When an unruly family moves in next door, what at first seems like a balm for her solitude becomes a source of tension as they, too, want to practice beekeeping, while disregarding her advice. Critics have viewed it as a film that also explores anthropological topics. And now, as Hollywood movie stars are tweeting their support for the artistic movie, pictures of her new house were released. VideoChess gets a risqu makeover, The Nigerian influencers paid to manipulate your vote, How a baffling census delay is hurting Indians, How Mafia boss was caught at a clinic after 30 years. [61], On 13 January 2020, Honeyland received nominations in the categories for Best Documentary Feature and Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards; it was the first documentary in the history of the Oscars to receive a nomination in the both categories. We really enjoyed making this comparison during the shooting.". [58], Honeyland was the most awarded movie at the 2019 Sundance Movie Festival, winning awards in three categories, including the Grand Jury Prize, the Special Jury Award for Impact for Change, and the Special Jury Award for Cinematography, all in the World Cinema Documentary Competition category. Perhaps this is why the most arresting imagery comes early on, before Hussein's family arrives kicking up dust with their animals and trucks. The duo told the audience at the International Documentary Associations (IDA) annual screening series in Los Angeles they would sleep in tents in their protagonists backyard for three to four days at a time for three years, amassing hundreds of hours of footage they would then spend several months sorting through. [11][12] The project was also part of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation's program for preservation of North Macedonia's natural resources. [16] Hatide and the nomad family were camera-shy at first but became used to the process as filming progressed. At its heart, this film is a character study, a meditation on the life of a woman who has carved out a precarious existence in an unforgiving place. Honeyland (2019) 9 of 216. [19] Due to the remoteness of Bekirlija, the production team stayed there for three-to-four consecutive days before going to nearby towns for supplies and to recharge their filming equipment. [49], David Sims of The Atlantic called Honeyland "a rare nature documentary that's deeply personal". [36] One mixed review came from Stephen Whitty writing for Screen Daily, who praised the painstaking filming and imagery but said its "commercial future seems limited" and that it "leaves plenty of questions and, occasionally, its audience behind". [57] Kotevska and Stefanov also started a campaign titled Donate for the Honeyland Community that sends jars of natural honey to donors of a fund that benefits Hatide and her neighbors. It was very surprising because we didnt change what we put on the line. When an unruly family moves in next door, what at first seems like a balm for her solitude becomes a source of tension as they, too, want to practice beekeeping, while disregarding her advice. Hatidze Muratova,a beekeeper and the star of Honeyland, at her home in the remote mountain village of Bekirlija in North Macedonia. That is until their nomadic neighbours, Hussein and Ljutvie Sam, moved in with their unruly herd of children, cows and chickens. [20] The production involved a crew of six: the two directors, two directors of photography, an editor, and a sound engineer. Critic A.O. Still, the transformation of Ms. Muratovas life is not necessarily something to mourn, Mr. Stefanov said. Honeyland received universal critical acclaim from film critics, who praised its attention to detail and applauded its conservationist message. [20] She elaborated that Sam's initial hesitation to sell more honey than he could produce comes from the conflict between his moral values and "the pressures of society". [32] The documentary's producer Atanas Georgiev said the production team was "very eager" to send the message of sustainability to the citizens and the government of North Macedonia, and to prompt action to improve the country's air quality and reduce pollution.[33]. Agence France-presse / February 6, 2020 Deep within the Balkans, Hatidze Muratova is the last in a long line of Macedonian wild beekeepers. Shes the only one remaining in this village to take care of her mother, because in the old tribe that she belongs to its a tradition that the last female takes care over the parents and doesnt have a family of her own, Kotevska. First we spent three and a half months, four months, just watching the material, the whole material. But we were surprised [by] some of those strong sentences we heard. Honeyland is the story of Hatidze, a lone rural beekeeper in the spectacular, almost unpopulated Macedonian mountain countryside. This is the first of many surprises in Honeyland (2019), a documentary set in a rugged, barely inhabited region of Macedonia where an extraordinary woman named Hatidze maintains ancient traditions of wild beekeeping. She will be the only Turkish-Macedonian peasant in the starry audience at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Georgiev said it didn't quite fall so easily from the sky. To, co zaczyna si jako serdeczne ssiedzkie stosunki, w tym Hatidze przekazuje swoj wiedz pszczelarsk Husajnowi, sprawy przybieraj obrt, gdy Hussein postanawia nie zwraca uwagi na jeden kluczowy aspekt tej wiedzy, ktry . In a simpler world, Mr. Georgiev, Mr. Stefanov and his co-director, Tamara Kotevska, would be basking in their newfound success, and focusing on new projects. Having lived 56 years quite happily without television, Hatidze wasn't all that aware of "Sex and the City", although she graciously told the star-struck actress's fortune "by reading the coffee grains in bottom of her cup.". "We were doing it by instinct, and then as soon as we got the translations the plot was all there. [20] Josh Kupecki from the Austin Chronicle said Honeyland successfully depicts the way "capitalism functions even in the most rural areas". Reyseria: Tamara Kotevska Ljubomir Stefanov; Produkcja: Macedonia; . The documentary Honeyland premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, where it was the most awarded film, winning the Grand Jury Prize, Special Jury Award for Impact for Change, and the Special Jury Award for Cinematography in the World Cinema Documentary competition. She has been making a living by farming honey and selling it in the closest city for her whole life, following one simple, but crucial rule - take half the honey and leave the other half to the bees. Nominated for two Oscars, Honeyland charted the tensions between a hermitic beekeeper and her disorderly neighbors. She wanted to live in the nearby village so she could still tend to her bees and have a warm place to live during the winter. They have since helped set Hatidze up in a new winter home close to her relatives in the "nearest village to civilisation". The documentary also portrays Hatide's relationships with her bedridden mother and her neighbors. Titles . She has become a star. Kotevska says that many people assume that she, as a woman, was the one who was closer to Hatidze, and Stefanov with the boys from the other family. By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from Mother Jones and our partners. [63] Matilda Coleman of The New York Times dubbed the movie an "Oscar game changer" and stated with its two nominations, it paved the way for more success of the documentary genre in future Academy Award nominations. The atmosphere in the village changes when the nomadic rancher Hussein Sam arrives with his wife Ljutvie, their seven children, and their imported domestic animals. France 24 - International breaking news, top stories and headlines. "To be able to communicate with bees you need to have a personal strength to approach them, patience to learn how to tame them, and this way of life requires not force but wisdom," says Kotevska. According to Kotevska, they wanted to make sure the movie's narrative is completely understandable even if it is followed visually. When we first meet Hatidze, she is ascending. When the rules are broken, everyone pays the price. That was largely thanks to Mr. Stefanov and his fellow filmmakers. The honey she sells at the market in the capital of North Macedonia, Skopje, is her sole source of income. We spotted Hatidze in the very beginning and just started shooting her. We were very shocked to see this because it was obviously handmade, said Kotevska, and we started asking the locals around who they belonged to, who made them, and why. Anyone can read what you share. Ms. Muratova, pouring some honey for her guests at her home in Bekirlija. Who was Ukrainian minister Denys Monastyrsky? In the film, she develops a special bond with one of the Sam boys. Honeyland received universal critical acclaim from film critics, who praised its attention to detail and applauded its conservationist message. All Rights Reserved. [5][6], On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Honeyland has an approval rating of 100% based on 124 reviews, and an average rating of 8.4/10. "Ljubo Stefanov. The directors focused only on the visuals without making use of audio recordings or transcripts. At her old home in Bekirlija, she proudly unveiled her latest bowl of liquid honey. But her quiet existence is fundamentally changed when the nomadic Sam family, consisting of parents with seven unruly children, a noisy vehicle and a large herd of cattle, moves into the village. Serenading them with a secret chant, she gently manoeuvres the honeycomb without netting or gloves. The film has already enabled Kotevska and Stefanov to buy Hatidze a house in another village, close to her brother's family. "She finds happiness and companionship in every living creature around her. Here, she lives alone with her mother, putting in all her time and energy to make sure they live happily and peacefully. Sam disregards Hatide's advice to always leave half of the honey for his bees and proceeds to sell the entire stock of honey. Shot over three years, this elegant film . Her life perks. [21] Each of the directors focused on a different element of the narrative; Kotevska's main role was the portrayal of relationships while Stefanov captured the environmental aspects. [51] On Metacritic, it was ranked as the twenty-fourth-best film of 2019. Now the filmmakers find themselves unable to leave entirely serving as mediators to, and occasionally protagonists in, the local tensions to which they once only bore witness.
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