No. of screens 18 (2009) Total 119,575 | Fictional 4 National films 24,986 (20.9%) | |
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The history of film making in the Republic of Macedonia dates back over 110 years. The first film to be produced on the territory of the present-day the country was made in 1895 by Janaki and Milton Manaki in Bitola. From then, continuing to the present, Macedonian film makers, in Macedonia and from around the world, have been producing many films. The country now produces three or four films per year.
Throughout the past century, the medium of film has depicted the history, culture and everyday life of the Macedonian people. Over the years many Macedonian films have been presented at film festivals around the world and several of these films have won prestigious awards.
The first Macedonian feature film was Frosina, released in 1952. The screenplay was written by Vlado Maleski, who wrote the lyrics for the Macedonian national anthem, and it was directed by Vojislav Nanović. The first feature film in colour was Miss Stone, a movie about a Protestant missionary in Ottoman Macedonia. It was released in 1958.
The most famous Macedonian director is Milčo Mančevski, whose debut feature film Before the Rain was nominated for an Academy Award. The highest grossing feature film in the Republic of Macedonia was Bal-Can-Can, having been seen by over 500,000 people in its first year alone.