Teona Mitevska is a familiar face in Rotterdam. In 2004 her intriguing feature début How I Killed a Saint took part in the Tiger Award Competition. Like that film, I Am from Titov Veles is a family production by the Mitevska sisters and brother, who largely represent the talented new generation of Macedonian film makers. Sister Labina produced the film and plays the role of the younger sister Afrodita while brother Vuk was the production designer responsible for the beautiful mood and colourful set design. Mitevska’s magic-realistic narrative follows three sisters in the village of Titov Veles (named after the dictator Tito and now only known as ‘Veles’) in Macedonia. The adult sisters live in a ramshackle cottage on a green hill. The city and its inhabitants have been damaged by the past and by the heavily polluting steel factory that blows deadly lead particles straight into the houses. Mitevska’s camera follows the sisters at a beautifully slow tempo as they wrestle with their lives, with their futures and with each other. With all their mutual differences, the sisters represent turbulent Macedonian society pulling itself together after years of disunity. People flee desperately into chemically or naturally induced hallucinations and into love for one night. This atmospheric Mitevska production was supported by the Hubert Bals Fund. (LC)
