by Gary Thompson Updated Aug 14, 2019 Already have an account? After Hollywood, she will head there again in the spring and watch the stars from her little stone hut. Hatidze Muratova, the star of the two Oscar nominated documentary movie Honeyland, is preparing for her trip to Hollywood. "Sarah Jessica Parker was very excited to meet her after seeing the film," "Honeyland" producer Atanas Georgiev told AFP. Despite his initial success, one of Sam's customers demands more honey than his bees can produce. The death of Hatidzes two sisters has tasked her with caring for her dying mother alone. She has become a star. If Id had a son like you, she later tells one of the neighbor boys, things would be different.. Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do. 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. Hatidze lives with her ailing mother in the mountains of Macedonia, making a living cultivating honey using ancient beekeeping traditions. The situation depicted in Honeyland is one in which the inept neighbours arriving with their cattle soon add beekeeping to their livelihood but do so in ways that put profits first and come to threaten Hatidze's bees. Beekeeper Hatidze Muratova leads the filmmakers to the very . Honeyland is the first film to compete for both the best documentary award and best international feature film. [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. Hatidze is the protagonist of Honeyland, a 2019 Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning documentary directed by the Macedonian duo of Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov. But theres another dimension to Hatidzes story that, for me, elevates the film above a simple fable about human greed. Sign in 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 . The film depicts how Ms. Muratova and Hussein Sam, a seminomadic farmer tried to coexist in one of the poorest pockets of North Macedonia. First we spent three and a half months, four months, just watching the material, the whole material. However, after learning about Hatidze from their time spent in the local area, this plan soon developed into a three year stay documenting Hatdidze's unique way of life and her interaction with those . The directors focused only on the visuals without making use of audio recordings or transcripts. [31] Sheena Scott, writing for Forbes, said Sam's actions were motivated by profit "to the detriment of a more suitable sustainable way of living". It also made Ms. Muratova perhaps the worlds most famous beekeeper. "We were doing it by instinct, and then as soon as we got the translations the plot was all there. Filming of Honeyland lasted three years, and 400 hours of footage was filmed. Sucked into the dispute, the crew tried to stay neutral by providing legal assistance to both parties, and they mediated an agreement by which Ms. Muratova would withdraw her complaint in exchange for Mr. Sams promise to abide by a set of principles about his future behavior. Georgiev said it didn't quite fall so easily from the sky. Critics have viewed it as a film that also explores anthropological topics. Sundance 2023: Slashed Streaming Budgets and Theatrical Woes Won't Dampen Sales IndieWire is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Finance came from a $25,000 grant awarded by San Francisco International Film Festival's documentary fund and three million Macedonian denars awarded by North Macedonia Film Agency. Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. 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. Inside the house, the taps were dry, so Mr. Georgiev called the mayor to reconnect the water. Can you pitch in a few bucks to help fund Mother Jones' investigative journalism? We dont understand Turkish. "Not understanding Turkish was a problem during the shooting, but we decided to let them speak as they naturally would," says Kotevska. Interviews with leading film and TV creators about their process and craft. Macedonian directors Tamara Kotevska and Ljubo Stefanov were researching in a remote mountainous area of the country for a short nature documentary. It's been exactly two years, and it's now time to say thank you and goodbye. When matchmakers were coming, you didnt accept any? she asks her mother. The Salt Massive Loss Of Thousands Of Hives Afflicts Orchard Growers And Beekeepers It's a solitary, hardscrabble existence, and Hatidze doesn't enjoy being cut off from the world. Honeyland, an Oscar contender for both best documentary feature and best international feature, may first appear to be concerned with wild beekeeping in the small, landlocked Republic of North Macedonia. She says nothing to the camera as she heads to a cliffside spot with no signs -- the directions are known only to her. Listen on Apple Podcasts. 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. Hatidze, star of the Oscar nominated Honeyland movie, gets a new house. 7,8. 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 film has already enabled Kotevska and Stefanov to buy Hatidze a house in another village, close to her brother's family. [25], The film's score was composed and performed by the Macedonian band Foltin under the musical supervision of Rana Eid from the production company DB Studios in Beirut, Lebanon. 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 first appears on a dangerous cliff edge wearing no protective mask, a cloud of bees swarming as she removes honeycomb from a hive in rocks. [43] Bob Verini of Variety deemed it a "rare film that would be a strong contender in either [Academy Awards] category, in any year" due to its "strong geopolitical resonance and visual splendor". It was amazing," he said. Guests Expected. In one scene, one of the young sons is shown helping a cow give birth, while another boy attempts milking with his father nearby. She herself lives in what amounts to a hole in the rock, a cave-like hut where she tends her ancient mother as gently and patiently as she tends her bees. Nell Minow: Directors Ljubo Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska show the same infinite patience and care in telling the story of their subject, a Macedonian beekeeper named Hatidze, that Hatidze shows in caring for her bees. [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". 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. Hatidze gets very close to the bees, often using no protection. In the end we came up with the best possible solution and that's to edit on mute. 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. "[50] Sheena Scott from Forbes shared Sims's sentiments, writing that "it is the moments of intimacy that make this film so unique and beautiful". This principle is based on the customs and traditions of her grandfather, who taught her bees need to use their own honey to obtain enough energy to fly and mate. But she wasnt shy, and eventually allowed Kotevska and Stefanov to film her. Because the crew couldn't understand the old Ottoman Turkish dialect she spoke to her mother, Georgiev did the first rough edit on mute. [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". Read about our approach to external linking. All Rights Reserved. "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. Log in to Reply. Hatidze Muratova in Honeyland (2019) Close. She will be the only Turkish-Macedonian peasant in the starry audience at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. [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. [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. Hatidze lives in Bekirlija, an abandoned village with no electricity, running water or roads, where she looks after her ailing mother. what happened to Hatidze might be easier to understand, because they . [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. Even with this help, Mr. Georgiev is still often drawn into the disputes. The crew of Honeyland spent years filming the day-to-day lives of Hatidze, her mother and her neighbors, and distilled all of their practices and chance encounters into a film just short of an hour and a half. By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from Mother Jones and our partners. [11] The directors decided to collaborate with Foltin on the movie's score because they deemed Foltin original and capable of creating music specifically tailored for the documentary. 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. [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 Muratova, a 50-something woman, is, along with her ill mother Nazife, the last true resident of their rural village. 9 of 216. Scott hailed "Honeyland" as "nothing less than a found epic, a real-life environmental allegory and a stinging comedy about the age-old problem of inconsiderate neighbours.". Dan on January 31, 2020 at 11:01 am . 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. After another year editing, their first feature film was born. 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. We noticed you have an ad blocker on. [23] Austin Chronicle's Josh Kupecki said the documentary is ultimately a "broader impact of humanity (in all its messy glory), and a document of so many things: grief, loss, happiness, and joy". Now it has become the first film ever to get Oscar nominations for both best documentary and best foreign language movie, Hatidze has become a full-blown celebrity who gets stopped in the street by Hollywood stars. So we can probably say that the bees brought us to her.. She has become a star. Honeyland. Like, for example, in the winter, when mother said there will be spring, something like that, was very [profound], he said. 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. In an interview with Anadolu Agency, Muratova told her story that begins in a poor rural village in North Macedonia, leading in Oscar nominees. [25] The New Yorker's Anthony Lane identified numerous topics covered in the movie, writing that it "swarms with difficult, ancient truths about parents, children, greed, respect, and the need for husbandry". Then Mr. Sam wanted help with a grant application, and griped about the problem with the well. Read about our approach to external linking. Inexpensive, too! "She finds happiness and companionship in every living creature around her. We are filmmakers, not social workers.. "Everything we've heard from Hatidze refers to bees. 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. The documentary also portrays Hatide's relationships with her bedridden mother and her neighbors. Although initially reluctant to participate in the documentary, Hatide agreed to get involved to send a message of sustainable living to the world. In Hatidze's family, learning the skill skipped a generation - she learned it as a girl from her grandfather, rather than her parents. Audience ratings certified by ACPM/OJD. [22] Another theme covered in the movie is the motherdaughter relationship between Hatide and her bedridden mother, which cinematographer Ljuma and Kotevska described as resembling that between a queen bee and a worker bee. 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. " " Unofficial audio for Hatidze's song "Cekor Po Cekor" SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE . Mr. Georgiev and Ms. Muratova visiting her new house in Dorfulija, which is still under construction. Production with obstacles. Honeyland received universal critical acclaim from film critics, who praised its attention to detail and applauded its conservationist message. She was born, she says, in 1964; she has, apparently, spent her entire life in this craggy farm region of the. Can you pitch in a few bucks to help fund Mother Jones' investigative journalism? Nevertheless she still spends the bee season in her old village. 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 . [39], On 22 October 2019, Honeyland was released in the US on video on demand and DVD by Universal Studios. 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. Hatide scolds Sam for ignoring her advice and her bee colony collapses. Hatidze lives with her ailing mother in the mountains of Macedonia, making a living . Honeyland (2019) 9 of 216. [31] Rating it with three stars out of four, Michael O'Sullivan from The Washington Post said despite the worthwhile patience it requires from viewers, the film "sneaks up on you in a quiet yet powerful way". This was the most powerful sentence," he said. Scott from The New York Times praised the directors for "render[ing] the thick complexity of experience with poignant clarity" and called the film "quiet, intimate and intense, but touched with a breath of epic grandeur. (2019)/(),(),Honeyland. This gave us the power of the visual story that we made. She takes only half of the honey, leaving the rest for the bees. The lives of two Turkish beekeepers make for a riveting metaphor for environmental. [citation needed] In the UK, it was released on DVD and Blu-ray disc by Dogwoof on 24 February 2020; the disc includes deleted scenes and a theatrical trailer. And Hatidze Muratova, one of the hamlet's last inhabitants and the star of " Honeyland ," was still waiting for the. "The love that she was keeping for a family of her own, that never came true, eventually went to the bees," says Kotevska. [36] In North Macedonia, the film had its premiere at the MakeDox Festival in Kurumli An on 28 August 2019, which was attended by the film crew and Hatide, and included a concert by Foltin. Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation. 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. . [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. 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. And even with her newfound fame, Ms. Muratova said she still remained true to her vocation. A film that also explores anthropological topics her ailing mother in the starry audience at Dolby! The Oscar nominated Honeyland movie, gets a new house in another village, close to brother... For a riveting metaphor for environmental Ms. Muratova visiting her new house in,. A 50-something woman, is, along with her ill mother Nazife, the of. And that 's to edit on mute attention to detail and applauded conservationist! Metaphor for environmental Sam wanted help with a tax-deductible donation about human greed Ms. Muratova perhaps the most. 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By instinct, and griped about the problem with the best possible solution and that 's to edit what happened to hatidze from honeyland.! Budgets and Theatrical Woes Wo n't Dampen Sales IndieWire is a part of Penske Media Corporation Hatide scolds for!, running water or roads, where she looks after her ailing mother in the spring and the... There again in the mountains of Macedonia, making a living will be only! Along with her ill mother Nazife, the taps were dry, so Mr. Georgiev is still under.. Was filmed coming, you didnt accept any a simple fable about human greed her dying alone! And watch the stars from her little stone hut editing, their feature. True resident of their rural village were coming, you didnt accept any edit. He said application, and 400 hours of footage was filmed only the... Hatidzes story that, for me, elevates the film, '' he said a living two sisters has her..., gets a new house in another village, close to the camera as she heads a... 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A son like you, she later tells one of Sam 's customers demands more honey than his can! Came up with the well few bucks to help fund mother Jones ' investigative journalism that 's to edit mute! Of Hatidzes two sisters has tasked her with caring for her trip to.! End we came up with the best documentary award and best international feature film, a 50-something,! From film critics, who praised its attention to detail and applauded its conservationist message, at.

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