“Honeyland” is one of the year's most outstanding achievements in filmmaking. This realistic and dramatic documentary portrays the living conditions of a beekeeper in a rural area of North Macedonia, conditions that no one can ignore. Remarkable, environmentally opportune, and unmissable.
“Honeyland” chronicles the life of a determined provincial woman who stoically defies both other humans and nature to save the world.
In the mountains of North Macedonia, we follow Hatidze’s journey, a forgotten native and bearer of an ancient secret about bees - where they are located and how to take care of them.
As she collects half of the honey, she shares the other half with the bees. She knows the ancestral s: that the bees also need nectar to survive through the seasons.
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| Honeyland photo courtesy of Neon |
In their humble hut, the mother hopes for her middle-aged daughter to marry a suitable prospect. Something more than impossible for being the only two living souls up in the mountains of the Balkans peninsula.
We see her happily walking miles to the city market, where she interacts with other vendors, mostly Albanians and Bosnians, who tell her how much she can get for her honey. In exchange, she can buy goods, like bananas, for her beloved mother.
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| Honeyland photo courtesy of Neon |
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| Honeyland photo courtesy of Neon |
“Honeyland” is enthralling and exciting. The humor centers on the free-spirited children pushing their luck as they interact with the animals.
A few weeks pass before greed alters the natural balance. Without any environmental action, biblical repercussions unfold in this tiny part of the wealthiest continent, Europe.
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Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska, filmmakers of Honeyland.
Photo José A. Hermosillo, Festival in LA ©2019 |
The talented filmmakers Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska worked for three years, shooting this endearing documentary in a rural location where filming conditions were challenging.
Their small crew had no shelter or showers; they camped in tents. For that reason, they shot only four to five consecutive days a week, then returned to civilization to recharge batteries.
They took one full year to edit more than 400 hours of footage and to follow three storylines harmoniously: the beekeeper, the restless family, and the land.
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| Honeyland photo courtesy of Neon |
In making this film, the children helped convince the adults to participate in the documentary. Initially, it was difficult for the filmmakers to approach the family, who were a fundamental part of the story.
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Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska, filmmakers of HoneyLand.
Photo José A. Hermosillo Festival in LA ©2019 |
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Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska, filmmakers of Honeyland.
Photo José Alberto Hermosillo Festival in LA ©2019 |
Coincidentally, the documentary juxtaposes parallel universes: Hatidze and her mother in their hut mirror the bees in their hive. The mother is the queen who never leaves the house, and the bees are organized hierarchically.
For Hatidze, dyeing her hair symbolizes beauty, an aspiration to be beautiful even in the hills, without realizing that the bloom lies within her noble heart.
According to the filmmakers, “This story has no villains, only victims of consumerism. The inhabitants must be more persistent and immune to the capitalist system that devours everything.”
For many, including me, “Honeyland” is a masterpiece; it has won more than 11 awards at festivals worldwide, including this year’s Grand Jury Prize and Best Cinematography at the World Cinema Docs in Sundance. The film also won the Special Jury Prize for Impact & Change at Sundance. It won Best Documentary at the Montclair Film Festival and Best at Docs Barcelona, Spain.
I hope to have the filmmakers back in Los Angeles for the Award Season because “Honeyland” is a documentary worthy of Oscar and Spirit Award nominations.
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| Hatidze in Honeyland photo courtesy of Neon |
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Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska, filmmakers of Honeyland.
Film critic José Alberto Hermosillo. Photo: Gabriel Romero, Festival in LA ©2019 |
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