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SUNDANCE 2025 Concorso World Cinema Dramatic

Georgi M. Unkovski • Regista di DJ Ahmet

“Una delle prime immagini che ho avuto in testa è stata quella di un pastore che si imbatte in un rave techno nella foresta”

di 

- Il regista macedone ha parlato con Cineuropa delle sorprendenti ispirazioni sonore alla base del suo debutto nel lungometraggio, che hanno portato a un'inventiva rivisitazione del genere coming-of-age

Georgi M. Unkovski • Regista di DJ Ahmet
(© Sundance Institute)

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After two short films, Macedonian writer-director Georgi M Unkovski makes his feature debut with DJ Ahmet [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Georgi M. Unkovski
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, a charming coming-of-age tale set in rural North Macedonia, which has just world-premiered in Sundance’s World Cinema Dramatic Competition. Unkovski’s tale grounds itself in social realism while tentatively exploring more dreamlike and imagined spaces, using music as a guide for his titular 15-year-old protagonist, who juggles his competing desires for love and responsibilities to his family.

(L'articolo continua qui sotto - Inf. pubblicitaria)
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Cineuropa: What led you to tell a story centred on a young protagonist for your first feature? It offers a rich but particular perspective of this rural setting.
Georgi M Unkovski:
I always deal with these characters that are struggling to find their place. I started with these really contrasting things that are very common in North Macedonia, where two generations have to coexist: one that grew up in a very traditional way, and a new generation that has the internet, TikTok and Instagram. The Yuruk ethnic minority is the most, let's say, extreme version of this contrast. They've been the subject of many documentaries, and I thought it would be amazing if we could do a fiction film with them. I started the work with Ozel Asanov, who was my script consultant and one of the few people from that village who graduated from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts. Through his collaboration, we started working with the community in general. From the beginning, I knew that the film had to be in their local dialect as much as possible.

DJ Ahmet challenges the notion that tradition and modernity are always competing to win, rather than coexisting.
There was one very distinct moment when we were doing scouting, and we were really high up in the mountains, in this very traditional village that's mainly inhabited by sheep herders and tobacco growers. We were walking on foot for a while, and then, among all these stone buildings, we heard this loud drum-and-bass music coming from one of the houses. At that moment, I realised the things we were trying to do were not completely fictional.

The sound design and music are some of the most inventive aspects of the film world, which really get us into Ahmet’s head through his sonic perspective. Where did this idea come from?
The first thing I was really into were the combinations of ethnic or traditional music reinterpreted as electronic music. I was listening to this kind of genre for a long time before the film. One of the first images I had in my head was of this shepherd running into the techno rave in the forest [which occurs in the movie]. This was the starting point that really didn't let me sleep for a while before I even wrote anything. It’s also a bit personal, in a way, as that music was my escape from many things and helped me deal with many issues in my life. I think that's why, through Ahmet’s point of view, it always seems a bit more imaginary than real.

The dynamic between Ahmet and his younger brother Naim is really sweet while also being very complex when the father is involved.
I always wanted to have the shadow of Ahmet there as kind of his mirror. I think it's important for the main character to have him because it really helps him show his true colours in certain situations. I’m really proud of the work we did on the casting: we saw over 3,000 young actors for these two roles. Finding Ahmet [Arif Jakup] really felt like we struck gold – and also with Naim [Agush Agushev], the little kid, because he was incredibly expressive and emotional without even speaking.

Did you cast locally based on the need for the actors to speak a specific dialect?
Yes, Arif is from the village where we shot the film, while Agush is from a city, Radoviš, very close to the village. Then we have Dora [Akan Zlatanova], the girl who plays Aya, who's from Strumica, another 50 km away. All of them are from a similar region, and I think that was key, too. They know the world, so it was a huge part of that authenticity for them to know exactly what we were talking about before we even met for the first time.

One of the posters for the film is a pink sheep – something viewers know more about after watching the movie – which echoes the idea of being the black sheep of a family or of society. How do you think about individuality with regard to the film’s message?
I think most of us, maybe at some point in our lives, identify with the pink sheep – or the black sheep. The pink sheep coming back at the end of the film was my compromise between keeping your individuality, but somehow still finding your place or a way to function in an environment that's maybe not ready for you yet. But still, there's some acceptance in the end, so it's about not losing your spirit while finding your place and accepting your role.

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