26-02-2020

Honeyland to Be Released in Australia and New Zealand

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    Honeyland by Ljubo Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska Honeyland by Ljubo Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska

    SKOPJE: North Macedonia’s Oscar-nominated documentary Honeyland / Medena zemja by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubo Stefanov will be released by Umbrella Films in Australia and New Zealand from 5 March 2020.

    Following its world premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival on 28 January 2019, the film was released in the USA by Neon on 26 July 2019. In September it was released in cinemas in North Macedonia, the UK, Canada, Poland, Ireland, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Austria and Germany. As of February 2020, Honeyland has grossed 727,169 EUR in the USA and Canada, and 20,379 EUR in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of 747,548 EUR.

    The film has been gaining the interest of international distributors and has become one of the most popular Macedonian films in recent history. Stefanov and Kotevska’s debut feature swept three prizes in Sundance: World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary, World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Cinematography and World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Originality. It received nominations for the 92nd Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Awards, becoming the first Macedonian film to receive two Oscar nominations.

    A release in the other European countries, South and North America, China, Japan, South Africa and Turkey will follow in the next months. Deckert Distribution is handling the sales.

    Honeyland follows 50-year-old Atidze, the last female bee-hunter in Europe, who must save the bees and return the natural balance in Honeyland, when a family of nomadic beekeepers invade her land and threaten her livelihood. The film is an exploration of an observational, indigenous visual narrative that deeply impacts our behaviour towards natural resources and the human condition.

    Honeyland was produced by Atanas Georgiev and Ljubo Stefanov through Trice Films and Apollo Media. The film stars Hatidze Muratova, Nazife Muratova, Hussein Sam, Ljutvie Sam and Mustafa Sam, with cinematography by Fejmi Daut and Samir Ljuma.