Macedonian filmmaker Marjan Gavrilovski has started shooting Ants (Mravki/Мравки), his third feature, a black comedy with thriller elements. It combines a murder investigation with a story about prejudice, personal trauma and an unexpected friendship.

The film follows Zvonko, a homophobic policeman living in a semi-rural neighbourhood, who is determined to solve his last murder case before retirement. When the victim turns out to be a trans woman, he begins investigating gay-friendly clubs and meets Damjana, the victim’s best friend and another trans woman. He teams up with her to find the killer, and the two begin following leads and questioning suspects. As the investigation progresses, their initially difficult relationship gradually changes. While learning more about each other and their personal lives, they eventually become friends.

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The cast is led by Nikola Kuzelov, who plays Zvonko, and Senko Velinov (Grandpa Goes South) in the role of Damjana, along with Sashko Kocev (Only Human), Atanas Atanasovski, Vlado Jovanovski (The Ascent), Bereda Reshit (Year of the Monkey), Tanja Kochovska, Vladimir Tuliev (Punk's Not Dead), Kristina Atanasova-Arsova, Mimi Tanevska and Dragan Spasov-Dac.

Gavrilovski directs from a screenplay written by Kuzelov, with principal photography taking place at locations in Skopje and Debar. Fejmi Daut serves as director of photography.

Ants marks Gavrilovski’s third feature, following his debut, Horse Riders, released in 2016, and Te Dua, I Swear, which was a local box-office hit. The project was pitched at Tallinn’s Baltic Event Co-Production Market in 2023. According to the director’s note, “Ants criticises those who hide behind their fears and incompetence, dictating how others should live and making decisions because of their societal positions. Ants is not just a story, but a problem and a solution packaged in a screenplay that should be transformed into a moving picture as an imitation of our illogical reality.”

Ants is being produced by Romir Jakupi for Skopje-based production company Time Lapse Movies and has received support from the North Macedonia Film Agency.