At the Montenegro Film Festival, director Georgi M. Unkovski received the Golden Mimosa Award for his debut feature,
DJ Ahmet.
The film is about 15-year-old Ahmet who lives deep in the Macedonian mountains looking after his father’s sheep while also caring for his younger brother. But he dreams of making music. Living in a conservative village in the Yuruk community, Ahmet hopes to fulfil his passion.
In an interview with Cineuropa , the director explains why he chose to base his film in this community. “I always deal with characters who are struggling to find their place. I started with two contrasting elements which are very common in North Macedonia, where two generations have to coexist: one which grew up in a very traditional way and the new generation which has the internet, TikTok, and Instagram. The Yuruk, an ethnic minority, is the most extreme version of this contrast. They have been the subject of many documentaries, and I thought it would be amazing if we could do a fiction film with them.”
With a budget of €978,000 the film is co-produced by North Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and the Czech Republic. It was shown in preview at the Sundance Film Festival.
