Macedonian filmmaker Marija Apcevska discusses her short film North Pole, world-premiered in the Palme d’Or competition at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.

Cineuropa: How would you define the sexual desire bordering on predation that drives the protagonist?
Marija Apcevska: The sexual desire of the protagonist exists first and foremost in a straightforward form. But the interpretation of it, in a way, becomes a by-product of the wish to belong. What drives her is no longer only a sexual desire; fulfilling that becomes a vessel for her longing for acceptance at the same time. When it comes to both female and male experience, what scares me the most are one-sided stereotypes. An example of that would be a portrayal of a man with an anger issue or experiencing sexual frustration as something very serious. Or a portrayal of a woman going through the same thing, reduced down to a mood swing, or something unimportant that will simply go away on its own, without her ever reacting. But in reality, the male character can also be a victim of a system of beliefs just as much as any woman can opt for predation. I think that is why I am interested in complex characters that can be both strong and tender.

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To what extent do you identify with this character, her experience, her behaviour, her relationships or the place where she lives?
I think for an authentic portrayal, you have to associate to some extent with your characters. No matter what happens in the story, you don't have to pity them, but you should feel with them. It doesn’t have to be completely accurate, but at least the starting point should be something very frank, coming from inside. I strongly believe in this truthfulness and the fact that it is always authors’ honesty which endures and passes the test of time. I do identify with the protagonist and her quest for belonging, which of course is not only limited to one's teenage years. We spend a lifetime searching within ourselves, for our individuality, and at the same time, we feel like we need to also fit that into what is accepted, to find approval. All while learning, as we go, that nothing is truly forever. Who we are or think we are today, can change tomorrow. Nothing is absolute.

What is your point of view on young people who are hypnotised by social networks? Perhaps they use them to escape from the reality that surrounds them, unlike the protagonist here, who seems to see, feel and act according to the places and people around her.
It is a fact that we are immersed in a digital society which transforms every aspect of our lives. The world is changing; it always has been. Globalisation, urban centralisation as well as social media have all affected the ways people think they should live and behave. Sometimes for the better, many times for the worse. For the young generation, the social networks do play key roles, but not only to them, really. Even a person who tries to avoid this is inevitably under the influence of the others, just like the protagonist of North Pole. I read the other day that the Oxford Dictionary word of the year is “goblin mode”, which may be linked to a rejection of social media-curated lifestyles. But I Googled the word myself, and it turns out that it is very popular on online platforms themselves. There is some irony there. If we want to try to shake ourselves loose from the hypnosis of social networks, or the toxic part of them at least, adopting a different attitude online might not be the sole answer. It might start there, but then, if we're talking about real change, it would have to happen in the physical world, too.

What are your next steps, and what are you working on currently?
I am very grateful to have been working on two debut feature films in development for the past year. One of them is After Dark, where I am a co-writer, and it will be directed by the immensely talented Erenik Beqiri and produced by Origine Films (France). The project was already part of the Cannes Film Festival Résidence and the TorinoFilmLab. The other one is my own debut film, Spring Cleaning, which we have been developing with producer Robert Naskov (Kino Oko, North Macedonia) as well as co-producer Milos Ljubomirovic (Servia Film, Serbia), the same team that was behind North Pole. We are very happy to have already received the support of the North Macedonia Film Agency and to have been selected at LIM (Less Is More), Cannes Focus Copro and Cinemed from Short to Long. I have just finished a short writing residency at Moulin d'Andé and am about to start with Jerusalem Sam Spiegel Film Lab in January, where the project has also been selected.