Honeyland
OzAsia Film Festival
Mercury Cinema
Honeyland is a powerful North Macedonian documentary film directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov that tells the story of Hatidze Muratova a beekeeper who lives in an abandoned old village with her mother Nazife. Nazife is bed ridden and partially blind leaving the sole responsibility to her daughter to care for her and to maintain the bee hives they have to survive.
Mother and daughter live a simple life with no running water or electricity. Making do with their small group of animals and the many bee hives Hatidze tends to as the main source of income. They may not have much but they have each other and a peaceful way of life.
Hatidze’s isolation is disrupted by the arrival of a young family with 7 rambunctious children. While at first, she embraces the opportunity to interact with new people it soon becomes more of a hindrance especially towards her bees and the hives. Initially Hussein Sam and his wife Ljutvie have their herd of cows as a source of income until they see the lucrative side to beekeeping and the honeycomb they can sell for more money.
At first Hatidze is open to helping and teaching him the way of her art of beekeeping but she soon realises that Hussein’s priority is to feed and clothe his family. He is pressured by the supplier that wants more honey that he can produce which spirals into a series of unfortunate events.
This movie spurs all the emotions for the viewer. There are moments of joyous delight like when Hatidze’s mother is grateful and excited to eat a slice of watermelon which is a treat or when Hatidze finally gets the radio to work so she can listen to a song. It brings to the forefront that we need to appreciate the simple things therefore making you question the complexities of your own life.While the movie is about bees and honey the messages that you take away from it are more about the humanity of life. It is a powerful film that rattles your emotions and slaps you with a dose of reality in a subtle and charming way. It’s a fine balance of documentary and storytelling that will have you smiling in one scene and shedding a tear in another.
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