16/03/2026 - The Macedonian producer explains she is passionate about real stories that rarely get the space they deserve

Ivana Shekutkoska holds a degree in economics and an M.A. in Marketing, Advertising & PR from the University of Sheffield – City College. She began producing films in 2016, working across shorts, fiction, and documentaries. In 2019, she founded Minimal Collective in Skopje. Ivana is one of the two producers of DJ Ahmet [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Georgi M Unkovski
film profile], an award‐winning debut feature which premiered at Sundance in 2025. An interview with her, now selected for the 2026 Emerging Producers programme (read her EP profile here).

Cineuropa: Why do you produce documentaries? Do you see documentary cinema as an instrument of social and political change?
Ivana Shekutkoska: Because I’m passionate about real stories that rarely get the space they deserve. I care about staying attentive to people and places with unique stories that are often misrepresented, oversimplified, or entirely absent from public discourse. I’m drawn to stories that allow for contradiction, where humor lives alongside pain and where telling the truth, carefully and humanly, can inspire, heal, and shift how we see the world.

Do you see documentary cinema as an instrument of social and political change?
Yes, at least I hope so. For me, the social and political power of documentary cinema lies in its ability to shift perception rather than deliver conclusions. Real change often begins when viewers recognize themselves in someone they once considered “other,” or when they feel implicated in realities they usually observe from a safe distance. The documentaries I’m drawn to don’t tell audiences what to think, they expand what we are able to notice, feel, and sit with.

How do you achieve and maintain work-life balance and foster overall well-being?
It’s a challenging question. I’m learning every day and constantly reminding myself that sustainability is essential, especially because I can easily work far more hours than I should. I try to maintain balance by being present for my family and my friends, while also attending to my mental health and the risk of burnout, which I’m increasingly aware of. That’s why I consciously cultivate more humane working rhythms, setting limits and allowing space for rest and care, which helps me stay engaged and grounded, both as a filmmaker and as a person.

Where do you find audiences for your films?
We usually build audiences step by step. Festivals and curated cinemas are often the first places where our films find people who really connect with them. It’s not just about premieres, these spaces allow a film to start speaking for itself, through Q&As, critics, programmers, and the communities that form around it. After that, we try to give our films a longer life: screenings in cinematheques or cultural centres, community events, sometimes educational contexts, and increasingly streaming platforms where films can travel and be discovered over time.

We also pay attention to younger audiences, who don’t follow films the old-fashioned way. They discover them through recommendations, online discussion, and short clips. So we focus on communicating the tone and atmosphere of a film, what it feels like, rather than reducing it to a summary. Audiences are everywhere, but attention has to be earned.

What projects do you have underway (including fiction films and other projects)?
Our current slate reflects our commitment to auteur-driven cinema, films with strong craft and emotional accessibility, capable of creating both festival momentum and meaningful audience connection. We’re working on continuing the trajectory after the international success of DJ Ahmet by Georgi Unkovski, a film that showed how a locally rooted voice can resonate widely when carried by strong filmmaking and emotional truth.

The slate includes the documentary Ruins (working title: Fatherland, a Monument to Freedom) by debut feature director Elena Chemerska, planned to premiere this year, and the fiction feature Division by Zero (working title: Swaps) by Gjorce Stavreski, also planned to premiere this year. Alongside these, we are developing and financing the fiction feature The Pot, the Lid and the Nurse by Vardan Tozija, an intimate, performance-led story with a tonal balance of dark humor, warmth, and deep humanism. It also includes two short films by Lidija Mojsovska and one by Sandra Gjorgieva – two set for shooting this year and one for next year. One minority fiction feature film, Five Days at Sea, by the Croatian debut director Ivana Skrabalo, is in post-production, plus several other projects are in development.

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EMERGING PRODUCERS is a leading promotional and educational project, which brings together talented European documentary film producers. The programme is organised and curated by the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival.

Deadline for applications to the EMERGING PRODUCERS 2027 edition is 31st March 2026.