David Meltzer
The jubilee 20th edition of the international film festival AsterFest took place in Strumica (North Macedonia) from 4 to 8 August, under the evocative motto Film Crossroads offering a diverse and compelling selection of films. True to its core identity, AsterFest celebrated auteur cinema, presenting exceptional and high quality films across various genres and formats. This year’s prestigious AsterFest laureates were: internationally acclaimed Macedonian filmmaker Milcho Manchevski, leading British producer and key figure in contemporary cinema Rebecca O’Brien, and one of the most respected actors in Macedonian and Balkan film Emil Ruben.
On 11 July, the Ciné-Real in London hosted a special ceremony. The event marked the presentation of an honorary AsterFest Award to acclaimed producer Rebecca O’Brien from Sixteen Films.
This year, on the recommendation of the festival’s founder, festival director Goran Trenchovski, and the festival council, the Honorary AsterFest Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film and Television was presented to the renowned film producer Rebecca O’Brien.
AsterFest was established in 2005 and is the longest-running, truly independent film festival in Macedonia and Southeastern Europe, dedicated to auteur film and specialising in short and documentary films. AsterFest is an annual festival event with physical screenings in the city of Strumica, but throughout the year, the AsterFest brand and concept are present internationally, with retrospective screenings, auteur portraits, masterclasses lectures panel discussions publications and other types of cultural, artistic and educational activities.
Under this year’s motto, “Film Crossroads”, AsterFest marked its 20th anniversary a milestone worth celebrating, especially in times of financial and cultural challenges.
This ceremony served as a warm-up for the main festival activities and screenings, which took place in Strumica a Macedonian city rich in cultural and historical heritage.
Over the years, AsterFest has welcomed filmmakers from around the world and continuously worked to build cultural bridges especially between British and Macedonian film culture. The festival has screened films by UK authors including Adrian McDowall, Benjamin Cleary, Elizabeth Hobbs, Finlay Pretsell, James Lucas, Liam Saint-Pierre, John Last, Jonnie Hurn, Juanita Wilson, Morag McKinnon, Lanre Malaolu, Mat Kirkby, Mike Rymer, Riz Ahmed, Ross White, and Tom Berkeley.
Every festival edition features laureates of the prestigious AsterFest Awards. Some of them are British, such as Timothy John Byford, Jackie Sheppard, and Kim Longinotto.
At the event, Trenchovski stated that Rebecca O’Brien is the most significant contemporary figure in the field of film production. Rebecca received the award and expressed that she was deeply honoured that AsterFest valued her contribution as a film producer.
The AsterFest Film Festival continued with screenings from 4 to 8 August in Strumica, Macedonia, discovering new cinematic spaces. Next season, AsterFest also plans to present a selection of films by Rebecca and Ken Loach, subtitled in Macedonian, in collaboration with Sixteen Films.
The official competition line-up featured an eclectic selection of international films, including: Fear Not Fear Itself and Zastava Brothers (USA), Ya Hanouni (France), I Am Not a Robot (Netherlands/Belgium), Bark (Montenegro), Motherly Instincts (UK), Foam Memory (China), A Bear Named Wojtek (Scotland/Poland), Friday, 1st of July (Belgium), Lonely(Croatia), Everyone Has Killed Someone (Poland), Orange Juice (France/Poland), Dark Forest (Russia), Turbo-Net(Switzerland/N. Macedonia), Cell Buddies (Netherlands), Dying (Spain), Amra, Frame of Mind, and Choice (N. Macedonia).
The AsterFest opening ceremony’s moderator Suzana Miceva said that AsterFest is not just a festival where films are shown it is a platform for authors who deserve to be heard and seen, for stories that touch us, provoke us, change us, and every film we will see at this year’s edition is the result of someone’s dedication, vision, but also struggle to remain true to themselves. She also read out the message from the Mayor of Strumica, in which he highlighted AsterFest’s place as a manifestation that, with its authenticity and creativity, has become one of the key features of the cultural scene in Strumica, and promised continued support as proof of Strumica Municipality’s commitment to the development of culture and the arts.
Many of the foreign entries were screened as Macedonian premières, with several also marking their world, international, or regional débuts. Some of the featured filmmakers were returning names whose work was already familiar and appreciated by the Strumica audience. A special screening honoured Emil Ruben with a digitised version of The Letter by Vasil Hristov, marking 25 years since its production. The medium-length film was presented by the Cinematheque of Macedonia, in co-production with Digit Prop and Belgium’s De Productie. On this occasion, Ruben stated:
When someone reminds you that you’ve been in film for exactly 70 years, you’ll admit that a slight uneasiness arises. On the other hand, it’s quite a good feeling when you receive recognition for that. And the people from AsterFest are to blame for this, for which I thank them and wish them a successful festival.
Emil Ruben is one of the most prominent Macedonian and Balkan actors. Ruben has been involved in film and theatre since early childhood.
As a festival dedicated to film authorship, AsterFest also presented the feature film Lena and Vladimir, directed by Igor Aleksov and produced by Mind Production, in tribute to this year’s awardees. The festival’s unique statuettes, awarded to the honourees, were designed by visual artist Nikola Pijanmanov. A professional jury composed of filmmakers Klara Doshlov, Sezer Salihi, and Ice Viranov presented the Grand Prix, as well as the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Horseshoe awards. Special awards were given for Best Director and Best Screenplay.
Over the past year, through the Tiberiopolian Film Events, AsterFest remained active with screenings, author events, workshops, and panel discussions not only in Strumica but also in Belgrade, where the festival’s regional impact was a topic of discussion. Collaborative ties deepened with film and academic institutions in London, Sorbonne (Paris), Novi Sad, and Prague. Evening screenings were held at the Strumica Amphitheatre. As in previous years, a strong international presence was evident, with filmmakers attending to present their work and enjoy Strumica’s vibrant cultural and natural attractions.
A book promotion event of the series Slavic Orpheus was hosted at Europe House in Strumica, featuring new titles in the festival’s film studies and arts literature series (The Butterfly Effect by Boro Drašković, Little Eyolf by Henrik Ibsen, Headlines as Hieroglyphic Scripts by Zeigam Azizov). The promoters and speakers were Zoran Stefanović, Mimoza Reyl, Suzana Miceva and editor of the series and AsterFest co-founder Sofija Trenchovska.
According to critic Mimoza Reyl, AsterFest is extraordinary, the film achievements there are timeless and spaceless glimpses of a universal astral film perception so well combined with the starry sky above that Strumica artistic sky, full of warm and wonderful people.
The traditional film visit to the monumental and old Veljusa Monastery was also part of the programme.
Just before the end of the Festival, director and screenwriter Milcho Manchevski, laureate of the prestigious “Aster” award for highest achievements in world and Macedonian cinema, received the award from the founder and director of AsterFest Goran Trenchovski on the set whilst filming his new feature.
On this occasion, Manchevski stated:
I’m delighted with the AsterFest award. Thank you, people. Art is made to touch the heart of another. I hope that what I’ve been creating for years touches you and creates new feelings. Many greetings from the filming of Leaving Copacabana.
Milcho Manchevski is one of the most prominent Macedonian and world film directors. Manchevski’s acclaimed Before the Rain (1994) is considered “one of the greatest debut feature films in the history of cinema (Annette Insdorf) and “one of the most important films of the decade” (Ann Kibbey). The New York Times included it on its list Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made. It won the Golden Lion in Venice, Independent Spirit, an Academy Award nomination, film of the year in Argentina, Sweden, Turkey, Italy and awards in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Poland, Puerto Rico, etc.
The Grand Prix for best short film went to the Dutch I Am Not a Robot by Victoria Warmerdam. The “Golden Horseshoe” went to the Macedonian Choice by Marko Crnogorski. The “Silver Horseshoe” went to the Polish-French Orange Juiceby Alexandre Athané. The “Bronze Horseshoe” went to the French Ya Hanouni by Lina Tadouni and Sofiyan Choueib. The “Gjorgi Abadziev” award for best screenplay went to the Croatian Lonely with a screenplay by Bobby Grubić and Miro Gavran. The “Aco Aleksov” award for best director went to the Swiss-Macedonian Turbo-Net by Nadezhda Panov. Special jury recognitions went to the Macedonian Frame of Mind by Aleksandra Kardalevska and the British Motherly Instincts, by Emma Zafirovska, graduation project from the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) in Farnham. The audience award was won by the British-Polish A Bear Named Wojtek by Iain Gardner.
The awards were received by some of the attending authors, and on behalf of the film I Am Not a Robot, the Grand Prix was received by Her Excellency Özlem Canel, the Ambassador of the Netherlands to North Macedonia.
AsterFest Film Festival was supported by the Municipality of Strumica.
At the end of this anniversary festival edition, the founder and organiser of AsterFest, Goran Trenchovski, said:
With the arrival of the giants and the screening of their auteur films, we at AsterFest have proven that nothing is unachievable. All the activities we’ve realised thus far, of which there are many, demonstrate that we’ve worked with a clear vision and concept, and throughout all these years we’ve exerted enormous influence on the education of film audiences. On one hand, the mission has been accomplished, but on the other hand, if you wish to go further and achieve even greater benefits, the event needs to be truly valued and supported by the highest Macedonian state institutions. Foreign guests who come to AsterFest are always enthused by the professionalism, organisation, and favourable creative atmosphere they experience at the festival, and they’re always astonished by the fact of how we manage to achieve so much from so little. And it’s like this because we’ve dedicated ourselves selflessly, wanting to leave something valuable and enduring for this world cultural and art heritage and for our homeland.
Goran Trenchovski is a Macedonian-British award-winning writer and director of The Golden Five. Experienced in all media, he has written extensively for cinema, TV and the theatre. He has also written some dozen books of essays on literature, film and drama. His PhD thesis was entitled Intermedial verifications of the novels “The Red Horse” by Tashko Georgievski and “The Gentle Barbarian” by Bohumil Hrabal’. He has taught and collaborated in many international cultural, artistic and educational projects and academic programmes. He is also a member of the British Comparative Literature Association, the European Film Academy and the Macedonian Writers’ Association. His feature film The Golden Five had its world première at the Raindance Film Festival and won an award at the Cardiff International Film Festival, and since then he has continued to collaborate and work with UK institutions. He is also author of The Crowning Glory, a book of hybrid micro-fictions inspired by the prose works of Beckett, Borges, Cortázar, Harms, Kafka, Kiš, Queneau, with a self-conscious writing style and exciting cinesthetic atmosphere. This autumn he starts new international theatre and film productions. He lives and works between Macedonia and Great Britain.
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