Honeyland by Ljubo Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska
SKOPJE: It was a challenging year for the industry in North Macedonia, as everywhere. Filming became complicated, cinemas went dark, festivals were moved and canceled.
However, the year started with one of the greatest chapters in Macedonian film history. The documentary
Honeyland / Medena zemja directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov was nominated in the Best Documentary Feature and Best International Feature Film categories at the Academy Awards. It was not only the first time when a Macedonian film got two Oscar nominations, but also the first time when a documentary was nominated at the Oscars in the two categories.
Honeyland by Ljubo Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska
SKOPJE: Macedonian cinema admissions decreased by 77% in 2020 compared to 2019 when admissions were at the highest point ever. In 2019 the admissions rose to 0.5 m which was an increase of 25% compared to 0.4 m admissions in 2018.
The year started strongly, with good performances by the US Production Bad Boys for Life, reaching around 15,000 admissions, followed by the Albanian film
I Love Tropoja with 9.500 admissions, and
Jumanji: The Next Level with less than 8,000 admissions.
The coronavirus outbreak forced cinema closures with the first national lockdown on 11 March, capacity restrictions, the postponement of film releases and public health concerns about attending cinemas. Although open air cinemas were opened in early July and the traditional cinemas reopened on 24 September and stayed open till the end of the year, the admissions were lower than ever.