Honeyland

Located in a deserted Macedonian village, Honeyland follows Hatidze, a 50-something woman, as she trudges up a hillside to check her bee colonies nestled in the rocks. Serenading them with a secret chant, she gently manoeuvres the honeycomb without netting or gloves.

Back at her homestead, Hatidze tends to her handmade hives and her bedridden mother, occasionally heading to the capital to market her wares. One day, an itinerant family installs itself next door, and Hatidze’s peaceful kingdom gives way to roaring engines, seven shrieking children, and 150 cows. Yet Hatidze welcomes the camaraderie and is generous with her advice.

But soon Hussein, the itinerant family’s patriarch, makes a series of decisions that could destroy Hatidze’s way of life forever. With beautiful cinematography evocative of Caravaggio, Honeyland explores nature’s vulnerability under the demands of ruthless greed.