5:00 PM, 22nd May, 2021
** PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE EMBASSY OF SWITZERLAND IN CELEBRATION OF WORLD BEE DAY 2021 **
In the remote mountain village of Bekirlija in North Macedonia, Hatidže Muratova is the last female beekeeper and one of the last keepers of wild bees in Europe.
Her quiet existence is disrupted when a family of nomadic beekeepers move into the village. Inspired and instructed by Hatidže, they decide to start beekeeping too but disregard a cardinal beekeeping rule: to only collect half of the honey produced and leave the other half for the bees. Disrupting the delicate ecosystem, it's then up to Hatidže to restore the natural balance of Honeyland.
Filmed over three years and distilled from more than 400 hours of footage, Honeyland is an eye-opening perspective on experiences that are anything but niche. Nominated for both Best International Film and Best Documentary Feature at the 2020 Oscars, it is at once a painstaking observation of the human condition, an allegory of the importance of nature and consumerism, and an intimate look at an endangered way of life.