NEW YORK — Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska had been in a hard-to-reach part of Northern Macedonia — about as far through the Oscars possible — once they come upon the beekeeper that would be their topic within their documentary “Honeyland that is acclaimed. ”
The filmmakers met Hatidze Muratova, a middle-aged woman who ekes out a hardscrabble and solitary existence harvesting honey with ancient, sustainable methods across the craggy mountainous landscape of the former Yugoslav republic while caring for her half-blind and bedridden mother in a modest home without electricity while working on a short video commissioned by a nature conservancy project.
In Muratova, they recognized not merely a noble, nearly timeless figure of environmental symbolism but an inspiring character deserving of attention. Muratova hadn’t attempted to reside in near isolation; while her town dwindled, she stayed behind to take care of her mom. “Honeyland” is, you might say, her liberation.
“This girl is an individual who is just a real talent and a great enthusiast of humans, ” Kotevska said in a job interview by phone alongside Stefanov. “She’s an extrovert. But life conditions brought her where she actually is. She had been caught for the reason that life. Once we arrived, it absolutely was a means of freedom on her. It had been method of expressing her life and her tale to us. ”
Of the many characters which is visiting the Academy Awards on Sunday, few can take a candle to Hatidze. She’s going to be here, the filmmakers state, with what guarantees become both a great tradition clash and a triumphant minute for the modest, heroic girl who never ever desired the limelight.
In Macedonia, Kotevska states, she’s residing the part of “a nationwide hero. Continue reading Making Oscar history, ‘Honeyland’ shatters edges