We stuck to our promise and we followed them as unobtrusively as possible for 3 years. In the film, she develops a special bond with one of the Sam boys. " " Unofficial audio for Hatidze's song "Cekor Po Cekor" SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE . We noticed you have an ad blocker on. The roof still needs some work, but the inside is mostly done. Hyperallergic speaks to the directors of the first film nominated for both the Best Documentary . . We dont understand Turkish. Honeyland (2019) 9 of 216. 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. Hatidze lives with her ailing mother in the mountains of Macedonia, making a living cultivating honey using ancient beekeeping traditions. Both members of North Macedonias Turkish minority, Ms. Muratova, 56, and Mr. Sam, 70, have similar roots in rural poverty, but markedly different approaches to life. Indeed, the contrast could not be more stark to Hatidze's solitary life in Bekirlija, where she tends her hives of wild bees, only ever taking half the honey so the bees would always have their due. At the time of filming, Ms. Muratova lived year-round in Bekirlija, while Mr. Sams chaotic family usually only visited during the summer, disrupting Ms. Muratovas quiet existence. Guests Expected. Here, she lives alone with her mother, putting in all her time and energy to make sure they live happily and peacefully. [9], Honeyland is Tamara Kotevska's and Ljubomir Stefanov's second collaboration on a documentary movie after Lake of Apples (2017). This becomes clear in Honeyland, an exquisitely photographed documentary by Macedonian filmmakers Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska. A woman walks alone through the untamed mountains and hills of Macedonia. A conflict played out between human neighbours is also mirrored by the bees. 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 woman's name is Hatidze. [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". Nevertheless she still spends the bee season in her old village. Hatidze Muratova, a 50-something woman, is, along with her ill mother Nazife, the last true resident of their rural village. But the documentary doesnt teach us much about cultivating honey. The arrival of a nomadic familytrailer, shabby cattle, kittens, and a litter of children in towshatters Hatidzes serene world, and that tension sets the dramatic stakes of the film. Hatidze Muratova's grandfather taught her to harvest honey using ancient beekeeping traditions. Description. You havent been calling, Mr. Sam said. [20] Kotevska said the most suitable description of the documentary's main theme is modern consumerism. [66], Other languages spoken in the film include, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, San Francisco International Film Festival, American Society of Cinematographers Awards, DallasFort Worth Film Critics Association, International Documentary Association Awards, Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association, List of submissions to the 92nd Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film, List of Macedonian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, List of films with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, "How 'Honeyland' Documentary Found Its Beekeeping Protagonist in Rural Macedonia", "Oscars: North Macedonia Selects 'Honeyland' for Best International Feature Category", "Oscar-nominated doc 'Honeyland' teaches a golden rule, rooted in science", " : ", "Oscars: How 'Honeyland' and 'For Sama' Portray Battles on Different Fronts", " " " , , ", "Ljubomir Stefanov, Tamara Kotevska Directors of Honeyland", "Pria o makedonskoj pelarici u utrci za Oscara: Pogledajte kako je filmska ekipa reagirala na odline vijesti", "Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov on Honeyland", "Shortlisted Documentary 'Honeyland' Expresses A "Universal Message" With Macedonian Beekeeper Story", "In 'Honeyland,' a solitary beekeeper delivers a warning about life in and out of balance", "Honeyland review beekeeper's life with a sting in the tale", "Review: 'Honeyland' is a heartbreaking documentary about a vanishing way of life", "Honeyland: Life lessons from Europe's last wild beekeeper", "Macedonia is the most polluted country in the world, please clean the air", "A brief guide to the 2020 Best International Feature Oscar nominees", " " " "" "", "Honeyland to Be Released in Australia and New Zealand", "Film Crew Spent 3 Years in Remote Balkan Hamlet. 1 movie of 2019. 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. Dan on January 31, 2020 at 11:01 am . But Hatidze was longing for her own family. And now, as Hollywood movie stars are tweeting their support for the artistic movie, pictures of her new house were released. [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]. 8.0 1 h 29 min 2019 NR Haditze Muratova, the last of the Macedonian wild beekeepers, sees her peaceful existence threatened by the arrival of her new neighbors. Like, for example, in the winter, when mother said there will be spring, something like that, was very [profound], he said. They slept in tents and hammocks in front of Hatide's house. Nature filmmaking that focuses only on the environment can feel a little dry, while so-called human-interest storytelling can be cloying; Honeyland succeeds by combining the two. 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. "Everyone has to do the same work to survive. But they also contain poignant revelations of Hatidzes inner yearnings. Watch out at the Oscars on Sunday for Hatidze Muratova. 2019 . Given her exceptionally poor living conditions in the nearly deserted hamlet of Bekirlija, Hatidze would often say that her main wish, out of her newfound fame, is to move to a better house in the near-by village of Dorfulija which offers far better living standards. Yet Mr. Georgiev has been anything but absent. It was never the main source of income for the villagers, but the families passed it down through generations. Related This is exemplified when she chants "half for me, half for you" to her bees when collecting honey. And this is her wish.. In fact, the social worker felt he had made himself too available. For more information about the series, and a complete schedule, visit IDA. Honeyland is a film set in a remote land, where the people live in ways unfamiliar in the West. She lives by that simple principle. She's wickedly funny but sweet: When a market vendor hears how she devotes her life to caring for her mother Nazife, he gives her a fan decorated with a peacock's tail. The eureka moment was when "Hatidze talked about half the honey being for the bees and half for her. [62][34] It is also the second Macedonian film to earn an Oscar nomination after Before the Rain (1994). So we can probably say that the bees brought us to her.. In addition to finding Ms. Muratova a new house, he and his team bought Mr. Sam a new truck and fixed his familys chimney. [37] In the United Kingdom, Honeyland was released by Dogwoof on 13 September 2019,[38] which was followed by a wider release in most European countries the same month. Gently placing it into Nazife's hands, the old woman's ruined face (one eye has been destroyed by a wound or infection . Honeyland is the first documentary to receive a nomination in both categories in the history of the Oscars. This approach was followed during the post-production stages and the first six months of the rough cut, which together lasted approximately 12 months. "She is sharp, very intelligent and speaks four languages from different language groups -- Turkish, Macedonian, Albanian and Vlach (Aromanian)," Georgiev said. 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. [59][60] In February 2020, the documentary won an award in the category of Best International Success at the 23rd Golden Ladybug of Popularity Awards in North Macedonia. Nazife says she did not turn them down, but Hatidze's late father did. The directors say the film profoundly changed their lives. It's been exactly two years, and it's now time to say thank you and goodbye. Back at her homestead, Hatidze tends to her handmade hives and her bedridden mother, occasionally heading to the capital to market her wares. Her life perks. Informacje o filmie. Get The Latest IndieWire Alerts And Newsletters Delivered Directly To Your Inbox. Its an avalanche of issues, said Julijana Daskalov, the foundations program manager. [10] The movie was originally intended as government-funded documentary short focusing on the Bregalnica river and the preservation of the surrounding region in Lozovo municipality, central North Macedonia. Hatidze lives with her ailing mother in the mountains of Macedonia, making a living cultivating honey using ancient beekeeping traditions. [16] Hatide and the nomad family were camera-shy at first but became used to the process as filming progressed. They have since helped set Hatidze up in a new winter home close to her relatives in the "nearest village to civilisation". Then Mr. Sam wanted help with a grant application, and griped about the problem with the well. Honeyland received universal critical acclaim from film critics, who praised its attention to detail and applauded its conservationist message. 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. 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. Hatidze especially feels the consequences. Because the crew couldn't understand the old Ottoman Turkish dialect she spoke to her mother, Georgiev did the first rough edit on mute. [65] Following the movie's dual nomination, several other countries started submitting their documentaries for dual categories at the 2021 Oscar awards. 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. The lives of two Turkish beekeepers make for a riveting metaphor for environmental. When the rules are broken, everyone pays the price. The most awarded film at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival . Hatidze, star of the Oscar nominated Honeyland movie, gets a new house. Beekeeper Hatidze Muratova leads the filmmakers to the very . Sign up for our Email Newsletters here. Hatidze says her bees are uniquely resilient and can survive very high and very low temperature, unlike many other species. Now the filmmakers are struggling to disentangle themselves from their subjects. We spotted Hatidze in the very beginning and just started shooting her. She says nothing to the camera as she heads to a cliffside spot with no signs -- the directions are known only to her. But the Honeyland directors, together with two cameramen, spent three years, on and off, visiting these families. Hatide scolds Sam for ignoring her advice and her bee colony collapses. Our fearless leader, Hatidze, climbs higher and higher until she stops at an unremarkable collection of rocks. Gender shouldn't be the topic of discussion. Even with this help, Mr. Georgiev is still often drawn into the disputes. We began Honeyland in the framework of a nature conservation project. Moments before leaving, Mr. Sam pulled him aside to ask why he hadnt been in contact so much during the coronavirus lockdown. Hatidze lives in Bekirlija, an abandoned village with no electricity, running water or roads, where she looks after her ailing mother. Nominated for two Oscars, Honeyland charted the tensions between a hermitic beekeeper and her disorderly neighbors. "Sarah Jessica Parker was very excited to meet her after seeing the film," "Honeyland" producer Atanas Georgiev told AFP. "People love her. They noticed beehives behind a rock on the mountain where they were filming. We see her climb to a beehive that is hidden behind a large rock. The HONEYLAND story began long before humans ever lived in the region, but our narrative starts with its last two remaining inhabitants: Hatidze and her mother Nazife. All Rights Reserved. Hatidze Muratova, the subject of the award-winning documentary 'Honeyland.' Neon A woman walks down a dusty, sunbaked road. [15] The film was going to focus on Hatide's relationship with her mother and the directors had no conflict planned until the nomad family arrived sometime later. Hatidze lives with her ailing mother in the mountains of Macedonia, making a living . 2023 IndieWire Media, LLC. Hatidze deals out the honey in 'Honeyland' Honeyland is a deceptively sweet title for a documentary about a lonely life spent in a harsh, barren landscape. Honeyland revolves around her work as a wild bee keeper, as she ekes out a living in the rugged parts of the Ovce Pole plateau. France 24 is not responsible for the content of external websites. The directors primarily focused on the visual aspects and wanted to portray humanity's balance with the ecosystem through Hatide, and consumerism and resource depletion through her neighbors. Their conversations, which take place in the dark, cave-like interior of their home, are often quite funnythe daily bickering of two aging women. Hatidze Muratova in "Honeyland." (Neon) But "Honeyland" is not a fictional story about a good woman and an evil man; Hussein Sam's a desperate mannine mouths to feed is a massive . You can see how unjust life was to her, because shes the greatest extrovert and artist youll ever meet, and yet shes trapped all her life in this abandoned area, and given the burden to take care of her mother, Kotevska said. Some documentary crews maintain a professional distance even after filming stops. "And through that, even though her life is very harsh, Hatidze doesn't feel lonely.". Ms. Muratova, pouring some honey for her guests at her home in Bekirlija. happened upon a pivotal conflict that would alter Hatidze's life: the arrival of a nomadic family of nine who settled nearby with a few hundred cattle and a fierce determination to make a living. She does not get stung, the bees seem to trust her. After another year editing, their first feature film was born. Filming of Honeyland lasted three years, and 400 hours of footage was filmed. Anyone can read what you share. In fact it was the other way round. But under pressure to produce more from a local merchant, he breaks Hatidze's golden rule of leaving half for the bees, with disastrous consequences for everyone. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and In need of money, and inspired by Hatide's way of earning money, Sam takes an interest in wild beekeeping himself. Squeezed between two rocky hills and circled by imperial eagles, the village was still reachable only in an off-road vehicle, via a steep, rutted track. "honeyland," directed by tamara kotevska and ljubomir stefanov, is set in macedonia and follows the life of the region's last nomadic beekeeper hatide muratova, much of the film tracks the. The filmmakers spent three years with Hatidze. That intense process ultimately shoved Ms. Muratova and Mr. Sam, vulnerable people who had never previously even been to a cinema, into the media glare. To lessen the pressure on himself in refereeing the relationship, Mr. Georgiev created a foundation that works with the families independently of the crew. What happened in the Ukraine helicopter crash? Calm and gentle, Ms. Muratova has a deep and respectful relationship with nature, treating her bees almost as collaborators. This is how we found our protagonist. Hatidze Muratova, a 50-something woman, is . [17][21] The filming technique has elements of direct cinema and cinma vrit. [40] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the film received an average score of 86 based on 26 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". According to Kotevska, virtually none of the film's scenes are inauthentic the only part that had to be recreated was the Sams arrival in the village, which the filmmakers had missed their first year of filming. BELGRADE, Serbia After taking the lead role in Oscar-nominated documentary Honeyland, Hatice (Atidze) Muratova left behind her previous life of poverty. [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.

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