Skopje, 4 September 2025 (MIA) -- To mark Independence Day, Sept. 8, a traveling festival of Macedonian films begins Monday in Zagreb with a screening of the complete digitally restored filmography of the Manaki brothers, the Balkan's first cinematographers. Festival organizers will also show four Macedonian feature films and four shorts in 13 cities across Croatia through Sept. 30.

The feature films on the festival schedule are Milcho Manchevski's "Dust" (2001), Stole Popov's "Tattoo" (1991), Ljubisha Georgievski's "The Republic in Flames" (1969) and Dimitrie Osmanli's "A Quiet Summer" (1961).

Also scheduled to be shown are Osmanli's short "The Rebellion of The Dolls" (1957), Mitko Panov's short "The Meadow" (1998), Slavko Janevski's short "Sun Behind Bars" (1957) and Dimitar Kjostarov's short "A Gift from the Merry House Painter" (1957).

This is the first time a traveling festival of Macedonian films has been organized out of the country, organizers noted, highlighting the importance of their newly established cooperation with the Croatian Network of Independent Cinemas.

In addition to the film screenings, the center will put on display "Macedonian Film Posters 1952-2022," an exhibit of film posters and other archival material from the collection of the Cinematheque.

"This initiative of the Macedonian Cultural and Information Center in Zagreb has placed Macedonia on the wider film map and has paved the way for a deeper cultural exchange," said the Cinematheque's director Boshko Grujovski.

According to the Zagreb Macedonian Cultural and Information Center's director Mimi Gjorgoska Ilievska, the festival and the exhibit are aimed at bringing Macedonian culture and cinema closer to the Croatian public, "recalling our cultural ties and insights that marked our erstwhile common film scene." 

The traveling film festival is organized by the Macedonian Cultural and Information Center in Zagreb with financial support from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and in cooperation with Macedonian Embassy in Croatia, the Cinematheque, the City of Zagreb's Macedonian National Minority Council and the Macedonian Orthodox Church in Croatia. mr/