Honeyland

For the animated short, see Honeyland (1935 film).

Honeyland
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTamara Kotevska
Ljubomir Stefanov
Produced byAtanas Georgiev
StarringHatidže Muratova
CinematographyFejmi Daut
Samir Ljuma
Edited byAtanas Georgiev
Music byFoltin
Production
companies
  • Trice Films
  • Apolo Media[1]
Distributed byTrice Films[2]
Release date
  • 28 January 2019 (2019-01-28) (Sundance)
Running time
87 minutes
CountryNorth Macedonia
LanguageBalkan Gagauz[3][4][a]
Box office$1,315,037[5][6]

Honeyland (Macedonian: Медена земја, romanized: Medena zemja) is a 2019 Macedonian documentary film that was directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov. It portrays the life of Hatidže Muratova, a lonely beekeeper of wild bees who lives in the remote mountain village of Bekirlija and follows her lifestyle before and after neighbors move in nearby. The film was initially planned as a short film documenting the region surrounding the river Bregalnica but its area of focus changed when the directors met Hatidže. Honeyland received its world premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival on 28 January and it has grossed $1,315,037.

Filming of Honeyland lasted three years, and 400 hours of footage were filmed. Several environmental topics are explored, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and exploitation of natural resources. The directors primarily focused on the visual aspects and wanted to portray humanity's balance with the ecosystem through Hatidže, and consumerism and resource depletion through her neighbors. The documentary also portrays Hatidže's relationships with her bedridden mother and her neighbors. Honeyland contains elements of several documentary styles, including fly on the wall, direct cinema, and cinéma vérité.

Honeyland received universal critical acclaim from film critics, who praised its attention to detail and applauded its conservationist message. The documentary received numerous awards and nominations at film festivals, including three awards at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and two nominations at the 92nd Academy Awards in the categories for Best International Feature Film and Best Documentary Feature. Honeyland is the first documentary to receive a nomination in both categories in the history of the Oscars.

  1. ^ Witty, Stephen (28 January 2019). "'Honeyland': Sundance Review". Screendaily. Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  2. ^ "Film #84818: Honeyland". Lumiere. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Honeyland / Directors' Statement". USC Cinematic Arts. 2019. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  4. ^ Bentley, Jean (30 September 2019). "How 'Honeyland' Documentary Found Its Beekeeping Protagonist in Rural Macedonia". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  5. ^ "Honeyland (2019)". Box Office Mojo. 16 April 2020. Archived from the original on 23 July 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  6. ^ "Honeyland (2019)". The Numbers. 26 July 2019. Archived from the original on 6 May 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2020.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).