[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". The images in Honeyland are stunning.The film opens with images of a wide mountainous landscape, through which a tiny figure navigates. While translators worked to interpret the Macedonian dialect of Turkish the subjects spoke, Stefanov and Kotevska stitched a visual narrative that made sense and once the translations were added, they were surprised at what they found. Their conversations, which take place in the dark, cave-like interior of their home, are often quite funnythe daily bickering of two aging women. We began Honeyland in the framework of a nature conservation project. The filmmakers spent three years with Hatidze. 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. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and "Half for me and half for you" is Hatidze's mantra, which she repeats as she tends to the bees on the mountain. Hatidze makes a living using ancient beekeeping traditions. [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. What happened to the mothers face in Honeyland? In a hint to the scene in the movie where she is purchasing hair dye, Hatidze had a new hairstyle done at the Iv studio in Skopje. By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from Mother Jones and our partners. Ms. Muratova never married, while Mr. Sam and his wife, Ljutvie, have eight rambunctious children. But the Honeyland directors, together with two cameramen, spent three years, on and off, visiting these families. 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. (Her last name, Muratova, is seen in the end credits.) Read full review. [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. Its impossible! sighed Mr. Georgiev. [46] Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Sheri Linden called it an "unforgettable vrit character study and an intimate look at an endangered tradition". He takes all the honey from his own hives, but his bees respond to this by attacking Hatidze's hives, leading to their destruction, and a conflict between the human neighbours. 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. 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. It was amazing," he said. And very happy to tell her story and her life to the world.. Critic A.O. But she refused a request to open up her hives, hidden in the crags of a nearby mountain, for fear the heat of the noon sun would harm the honeycombs. Fejmi Daut, one of the documentary's cinematographers, said the lack of electricity in the village meant the production crew relied on daylight, candles, gaslight and a fireplace to achieve desired image quality. "The mother and daughter story is so beautiful and almost mythological, but with the honey, there is conflict, capitalism and consumerism. Ms. Muratova, pouring some honey for her guests at her home in Bekirlija. 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. The film has already enabled Kotevska and Stefanov to buy Hatidze a house in another village, close to her brother's family. IndieWire is a part of Penske Media Corporation. But Ms. Muratovas cramped, dark living room, site of the movies most moving scene, no longer felt lived in. ", join us with a tax-deductible donation today. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/29/world/europe/honeyland-north-macedonia-bees.html. In need of money, and inspired by Hatide's way of earning money, Sam takes an interest in wild beekeeping himself. It took filmmakers Tamara Kotevska and Ljubo Stefanov three years of filming in the remote countryside of Macedonia to capture the footage they used in their Sundance-winning documentary, Honeyland, about Hatidze Muratova, a rural Macedonian woman who has dedicated her life to beekeeping. I think of an early shot of Hatidze sitting next to her mother in their dark, one-room home: she's gently lit, in her golden shirt . Hatidze Muratova, the protagonist of "Honeyland. Moments before leaving, Mr. Sam pulled him aside to ask why he hadnt been in contact so much during the coronavirus lockdown. 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. And then she said that this is something she was thinking of a lot how to find a way to tell her story to the world. Honeyland opens this way: near-wordlessly, attending to the rituals of Hatidze's day, her trips to the nearest city to sell her honey. And Hatidze Muratova, one of the hamlets last inhabitants and the star of Honeyland, was still waiting for the filmmakers with a smile and a strong coffee. Directors Tamara Kotevska, Ljubomir Stefanov Starring Hatidze Muratova, Nazife Muratova, Hussein Sam Genres Drama, Documentary, Special Interest Subtitles None available That is until their nomadic neighbours, Hussein and Ljutvie Sam, moved in with their unruly herd of children, cows and chickens. Hatidze lives with her ailing mother in the mountains of Macedonia, making a living cultivating honey using ancient beekeeping traditions. Hatidze lives with her ailing mother in the mountains of Macedonia, making a living cultivating honey using ancient beekeeping traditions. Both the Sams and Hatidze's family are ethnic Turks and they speak in Turkish dialect throughout the film. hours of footage, honeyland centers on hatidze, a woman in her mid-fifties (we learn she was born in 1964) who sustains herself and her elderly, infirm mother with her honey business, keeping rows and rows of bees on their small plot in a rural (and apparently otherwise abandoned) town a four-hour walk from the city Georgiev said it didn't quite fall so easily from the sky. 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. Stefanov says that in the traditional communities in that part of the world, regardless of the religion or ethnicity, "there is an unwritten rule that the last-born female child stays with the parents until their death". Nominated for Oscars for both best documentary feature and best foreign film, it is a visual masterpiece, introducing its viewers to an incredible, particular life . What caught the directors' interest early on was observing Hatidze's life and her relationship with her mother. It's been exactly two years, and it's now time to say thank you and goodbye. Honeyland has much to say about conserving nature, but its lessons are also about human life and relationships. But he thinks there was other magic also at work from her late mother, the "queen bee" of the piece. Honeyland is the first documentary to receive a nomination in both categories in the history of the Oscars. Hatide attended the event and performed two songs after receiving the award. [30] Los Angeles Times journalist Justin Chang described it as one of the rare films that serve as an "intimately infuriating, methodically detailed allegory of the earth's wonders being ravaged by the consequences of human greed". 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. Watch Kotevska and Stefanovs IDA Q&A below. [22] David Fear writing for Rolling Stone viewed it as a documentary that portrays "rural regionalism and lost art forms", also saying the directors ensured viewers are immersed in Hatide's way of living during the first half of the movie so they realize what is being lost during the latter half. Hatidze Muratova is a Macedonian beekeeper of Turkish ethnicity: Outside, she sings to the bees that she tends with an expert, traditional hand. "People love her. Most of the houses were still in ruins, slowly sliding into the undergrowth. Can you pitch in a few bucks to help fund Mother Jones' investigative journalism? [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. Like, for example, in the winter, when mother said there will be spring, something like that, was very [profound], he said. And bees do fill the filmflitting in and out of the frame, stinging hapless neighbors, and alchemizing the harsh landscape into molten gold. 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. 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. 7,8. The IDA Documentary Screening Series brings some of the years most acclaimed documentary films to the IDA community and members of industry guilds and organizations. And now, as Hollywood movie stars are tweeting their support for the artistic movie, pictures of her new house were released. Honeyland Review: An accomplished and heartfelt documentary exploring a lost way of life and impact of the modern world on our environment . [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". 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. Inexpensive, too! 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. Honeyland. 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 . All pictures from Honeyland (directors: Tamara Kotevska and Ljubo Stefanov) are NEON copyright, unless otherwise stated, From World of Warcraft to conducting the Oscars, Ukrainian ministers killed in helicopter crash, Zelensky addresses world leaders after deadly helicopter crash, 15 minutes to defend yourself against death penalty. Even with this help, Mr. Georgiev is still often drawn into the disputes. Nazife says she did not turn them down, but Hatidze's late father did. [14] They spent the better course of three years visiting the families of the film. Hatidze, star of the Oscar nominated Honeyland movie, gets a new house. "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. Honeyland (directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov) is a documentary film that follows the life of a beekeeper, Hatidze Muratova, who lives with her elderly mother in an otherwise abandoned village in rural Macedonia. When the rules are broken, everyone pays the price. Honeyland follows the day-to-day life of Hatidze Muratova, one of the last "bee-hunters", as she cultivates honey from the mountains of Macedonia. Hatidze lives with her ailing mother in the mountains of Macedonia, making a living cultivating honey using ancient beekeeping traditions. When they were asking for my hand?, Hatidze seems to wonder about the paths her life might have taken. The shoot lasted three years, with co-directors Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov camping in the village with their cameramen until their batteries would run out -- since there was no electricity for miles. And the complexities of this transition created a clash between the filmmakers professional duties as cleareyed observers and their subjects emotional expectations of them as humans and friends. Now this place and these people are different, said a wistful Ljubomir Stefanov, one of the films two co-directors, sitting in Ms. Muratovas garden. She lives with her ailing mother in a shack in a deserted village, without electricity, void of every convenience. It was very surprising because we didnt change what we put on the line. This gave us the power of the visual story that we made. Today, about 78,000 ethnic Turks still live in North Macedonia, making up just under 4% of the country's population of 2.1 million. [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. [62][34] It is also the second Macedonian film to earn an Oscar nomination after Before the Rain (1994). It's a poem including history"[19] and listed the film as best pick for 2019. In Honeyland, Hatidze's echo of paradise is most certainly lost. This was the beginning of a "crazy adventure" of three years, filming through scorching summers and freezing winters. She lives in the ruins of a farming village several hours from the capital city of Skopje, a 50 . [42] In a separate year-end review, Scott and Manohla Dargis of the same newspaper named Honeyland the best film of 2019, and called it "nothing less than a found epic". The film shows that to be true of the people living in the region too. A "Honeyland" foundation for her, the Sam family and the wider community, is up and running, with internet donors getting some of their wild "bio honey" in the post. This kind of involvement is partly a self-interested act, Mr. Georgiev said a means of both salving the crews conscience for deriving professional benefit from the lives of both Mr. Sam and Ms. Muratova, and warding off public criticism. Georgiev puts much of the film's phenomenal success down to Hatidze's "wonderful heart". 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. Not turn them down, but its lessons are also about human life and her with... Oscar nominated Honeyland movie, gets a new house this help, Mr. Georgiev is often! To say about conserving nature, but Hatidze 's `` wonderful heart '' cramped... 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