Films create magic in the face of which words disappear. Seven festival days, seventy films and more than 400 authors and artists from all over the world will walk around Bitola, the town that shall dream these nights through the light and the shadows of the silver screen.  

-Exactly 19 years later, I am standing here, in the same spot behind the microphone, in this venue, but in a slightly different role. Nineteen years ago, as a young actor, I opened the 27 . edition of IFFC Manaki Brothers as a master of conference. Tomi Salkovski was sitting in the row reserved for protocol guests, as he is sitting now, but at the time he was the festival director. In the last two rows I can see students, it was the same back when I was a student and in 20 years’ time some of you might be in this spot. In the past 20 years I attended the Manaki Brothers frequently with the films in which I starred and I always returned with great excitement and happiness. What makes this festival special is the exceptional selection of films, the people who come, the guests and of course meeting new people. That is the charm and the magic of this festival and no one can take it away from it. That is the code that will last forever. That is our dream. We dream of big screens and big films. Some to act, others to shoot, still others to edit, produce, direct. That is our dream and we are living it right here. In the
next seven days let us continue dreaming joy and love and let us enjoy this festival. Long live Manaki Brothers, said festival director Dimitrija Doksevski.

Kiro Urdin designed the poster of this year’s edition of the festival. His work links painting, literature, film and conceptual art and tonight the Manaki Brothers festival expressed its true gratitude for his tireless commitment and his entire oeuvre.

This year also marks the 75 th anniversary of MFPA. The Association is the festival’s heart and its driving force.

-These are large numbers, 75 years of MFPA, 46 years of Manaki Brothers, even for those bigger than us. We introduced a new award, something we haven’t done before. It is awarded on rare occasions, sometimes, maybe once in ten years and tonight it will be awarded to a person who is the only one among us who has not missed a single edition of the festival in 46 years, said MFPA president Igor Ivanov.

The Golden Medal award laureate is film critic Blagoja Kunovski Dore.

-Thirty years ago, when the festival was on the rise, I was invited to chair the jury for the student programme and that is when I met Blagoja Kunovski Dore. Our cooperation has continued since then. When I became director of IFFC Manaki Brothers, I was director for eight years, and then we continued being the best of associates, we fought to promote the Macedonian film and to bring the best of the world here. He carried on. He not only put up with me, but he put up with all the other directors; he created and worked tirelessly and insisted on improving the festival, said Tomi Salkovski, MFPA
secretary, who collaborated with Kunovski the most, calling him the greatest film critic of all times in Macedonia, the biggest promoter of Macedonian film outside of Macedonia’s borders and the greatest collaborator of the Macedonian Film Professionals Association and the Manaki Brothers festival.

Dorevski said he was touched by the award and that he was committed to a career filled with many excitements.

-I would like to thank the Macedonian Film Professionals Association for this recognition. It is particularly fulfilling being part of that organization of filmmakers and being part of this festival of ours, which is one of the rare, maybe the only аmbassador of Macedonian culture. I have understood films and their authors as missionaries in setting up a better, more beautiful, more humane and more dignified world in which we live, Kunovski said and wished for a successful festival.
The Golden Medal award and the Great Star of Macedonian Film award were made by Bitola-based Bozinovski company.

The Sumolight award, Creative Synergy, introduced last year, is awarded to cinematographers and their gaffers. The prize was awarded by Tim Zur, Sumolight founder, to Bill Pope and Jonathan Spencer.

-I am very happy that the Manaki Brothers festival introduced this award last year because cinematographers are the ones we celebrate here, Zur said.

The recipients said they are honoured by this recognition because their work has been recognized, which was not the case previously.

In the 21 st century it is difficult to find a name such as the Turkish director Semih Kaplanoğlu, this year’s laureate for the Golden Camera 300 for Outstanding Contribution to world cinema.

-Whenever I find myself on a stage, I usually say a couple of words and leave quickly. But this time that will not be the case. Because the importance of this award has a huge weight and because many people are involved in it. Receiving this award here in Bitola, the town of the Manaki brothers, the film pioneers in this region, is not only a huge honour for me, but also a true reminder about the endless journey of film art. For me film has always been the language of light and shadows, of ѕilence and voice, of memories and dreams. Because art is one of the deepest roads that contributes to the spiritual development of human beings. As the great Sufi poet in contemporary Turkish language Yunus Emre said:

“Knowledge is to know yourself”.

And this is precisely what films offer us: ways to get to know ourselves, one another and to know the truth.

On this journey I bow, full of gratitude, to the greats whose work drew me to film – Turkish directors Metin Erksan and Lütfi Ömer Akad, as well as Bresson and Tarkovsky, who taught me the truth about film. To my late father, who as a child introduced me to the world of Michelangelo, Vermeer and Rembrandt; he was also a photographer and when I was only 9 years old, he gave me an 8-mm camera.

To my mother, who not only guided me through the depths of Turkish poetry and literature, but also to the greats, such as Tolstoy and Dostoyevski.

And I owe the greatest gratitude to my beloved wife – the writer Leyla, my life companion, my light – who was by my side in the most difficult periods, who gave me strength when I fell into despair, who supported me in all impossible moments, who was my inspiration and with whom I write my scripts.

To the cinematographers with whom we make joint efforts to uncover the mysteries of light and shadows, of the human face and the essence of things: Hayk Kirakosyan,Özgür Eken, Baris Özbiçer and Giles Nuttgens.

To the gaffers, the main technicians, the actors, the production team and all invisible hands that give film life. My coproducers: Bettina Brokemper from Germany, Guillaume de Seille and Sophie Dulac from France, Lilette Botasi from Incas Film in Greece.

As well as to the General Film Directorate under the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Turkey, TRT, and the numerous respected institutions in my country and abroad such as ZDF-ARTE, who were my coproducers for eight films in the last 25 years – and to film festivals and organizations such as CNC, APSA and the World Cinema Fund; our international distributors, particularly Match Factory and Films Boutique, which showed my films to audiences in more than 40 countries.
I would also like to express my gratitude to the International Festival of Film Camera Manaki Brothers and its director Dimitrija Doksevski.

This award is a symbol of our collective effort.

And finally, I dedicate this award to the director and photographer Fatima Hassouna, who was killed by the Israeli forces. On her behalf I dedicate it to the children, women and all innocent civilians in Gaza who are victims of genocide, aplanoğlu said.

The award was presented by Bitola Mayor Toni Konjanovski.

-Bitola, as a town of tradition and culture, has been nurturing the tradition of cinematic art for more than a century. We proudly carry on the historic legacy of the Manaki brothers, who 120 years ago wrote the first pages of the European film history with their camera. The journey of Balkan cinema began in Bitola and today we are the guardians and the promoters of that heritage. The Manaki Brothers festival is not only a cultural event, it is a symbol of Bitola’s identity, a window to the world and proof that our local story has global meaning, Konjanovski said.

The festival was declared open by President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova.

-We are at the start of the 46 th edition of IFFC Manaki Brothers, under the motto Dream on a Screen, which perfectly reflects the essence of the virtuous persons we celebrate. This festival is undoubtedly one of the most valuable and most recognizable cultural symbols of Bitola, Macedonia as well as the world. It is one-of-a-kind stage that celebrates cameramen as authors, creators, silent but powerful builders of each film story. Cameramen are multitalented artists. They visualize the idea, compose and draw with their camera, dictate the rhythm and create the atmosphere, Siljanovska Davkova
said, adding that now film light has the floor.

The festival was opened with the film Mother, inspired by the life of Mother Teresa, directed by Teona Struga-Mitevska. Director of photography is Virginie Saint-Martin from Belgium, stage design by Vuk Mitevski and first assistant director Jane Kjortoshev. It stars world renowned actresses Noomi Rapace and Sylvia Hoeks, with Nikola Ristanovski, Labina Mitevska and others.

The film is a coproduction between Macedonia, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark and Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is supported by the Film Agency of Macedonia, Creative Europe – MEDIA, the Danish Film Institute, Belgium Tax Shelter, the Belgian national and regional film support, the Belgian national television, the Swedish film fund, Swedish regional funds and the Film Fund of Sarajevo.