Acclaimed Macedonian filmmaker Milcho Manchevski started filming his eighth feature, Leaving Copacabana, on 15 July in Skopje. The film is a social thriller-comedy about siblings Malina and Viktor, who steal bronze busts for a living. One day, the heavy bronze head-and-shoulders of a national hero slips out of Viktor’s hands and crushes his foot. When the doctor arrives to treat his injury, he demands sexual favours as payment. That’s when Viktor picks up a heavy manhole cover that was lying around the house.

As with all of Manchevski’s films, this one also explores socially relevant issues alongside emotional and artistic themes, such as sibling love. The film tackles loneliness, poverty, corruption, mental illness and a society driven by the privileges of the wealthy. While set in contemporary North Macedonia, it also offers a universal commentary on how people live and connect in today’s world.

“This is a film about sibling love and self-sacrifice, about the rich and the poor, the good and the bad, the blind and the seeing. It’s a film about how we live, how we laugh and how we die,” says Manchevski. “With this team and these actors, I feel like I’m working with true equal partners in creating a piece of art, something that will last and be remembered.”

Leaving Copacabana stars Sara Klimoska, Filip Trajković, Sonja Mihajlova, Petar Mirčevski, Jordan Simonov, Dejan Lilić, Jasmina Vasileva and Stefan Nikolovski. Seasoned Italian cinematographer Stefano Falivene is lensing the film, the UK's David Munns is the production designer, Milka Ančevska is the casting director, Zaklina Krstevska is the costume designer, and Bistra Kečidžieva is the make-up artist.

The feature is a co-production between Banana Film (North Macedonia), Gala Film (Bulgaria), Sense Production (Serbia), the Tirana Film Institute (Albania), Coast to Coast (Italy) and Berkeley Media Group (UK). It was supported by national film funds and private investors from all six territories.