Skopje, 26 April 2024 (MIA) – Macedonian filmmaker, screenwriter and producer Stole Popov is the winner of this year’s Golden Lens, an annual award presented by the Cinematheque of North Macedonia to mark its anniversary.

“Popov has enriched the national cinematography not only with his award-winning opus, but also with his teaching and managerial engagement in the art of film and film education,” the Cinematheque said Friday in a press release. 

Born in 1950 in Skopje, Popov directed numerous films since 1974, including DAE, a documentary about the Roma population in Skopje. In 1979, DAE was nominated for an Academy Award, thus becoming the first Macedonian filmmaker nominated for the American prestigious award. 

The director-turned-professor directed his first feature film “The Red Horse” in 1981, followed by “Happy New Year ‘49” (1986), “Tattooing” (1991), “Gypsy Magic” (1997), and “To the Hilt” (2014).

Popov’s three documentaries and four feature films were remastered in 2011 as part of the Cinematheque’s first project for digital remastering.

The Cinematheque was established on April 29, 1974. 

Previous Golden Lens award winners include filmmakers Branko Gapo, Trajche Popov, Kiril Cenevski, Kole Angelovski and Kole Manev; production sound mixer Gligor Pakovski; animator and cartoonist Darko Markovikj; and directors of photography Dragan Salkovski, Ljube Petkovski, and Blagoja Drnkov. 

The award will be presented to Stole Popov at a ceremony at the end of May in Skopje. 

Photo: Cinematheque