The 2025 ICFF Manaki Festival

For each visit to the ”Manaki Brothers” Film Festival, I find I have to dust off new superlatives to describe it. The 46th edition, which took place between the 20th and 26th of September, is no exception. With over 540 guests attending -almost three times the normal amount of participants-  it may well be the most ambitious one yet, and Bitola with its mosques, churches and ubiquitous dogs, is as impossibly charming as ever.  And there’s a new director in charge.

”Twenty years ago I was sitting in the audience here”, Dimitrija Doksevski stated in his opening speech during the Saturday evening inaugural ceremony in the Bitola Cultural Center, ”and I would never have guessed I would one day be up here as director”. An actor by profession, and whose brother Naum Doksevski is a talented cinematographer, the new director has expressed his vision to preserve the strong legacy of the Festival while expanding international collaborations and educational programs for young cinematographers. 

This year’s Opening Ceremony is somewhat toned down if you compare it to the previous two years, when there were choirs on stage and even circus performers flying around above the audience, but it boasted a full program indeed. Among the highlights were: the Creative Synergy Award, presented by Sumolight’s Tim Zur to cinematographer Bill Pope ASC and his gaffer Jonathan Spencer. Also, the Macedonian Film Professionals Association, which is the driving force behind the Manaki Festival, celebrate their 75th anniversary this year. And last but not least, Turkish director Semih Kaplanoğlu received the Special Camera 300 Award for his Outstanding Contribution to the World Of Cinematographic Art.

Mr Kaplanoğlu makes another welcome appearance the very next day, holding a Masterclass covering topics such as his cinematic philosophy, working across cultures, and challenges in modern filmmaking. The conversation is moderated by film critic Blagoja Kunovski–Dore, who himself was awarded the “Brothers Manaki” Prize the previous evening. 

There were noteworthy presentations the next few days as well. Monday morning the AFC held a charming Masterclass called “The Evolution of Filming Tools Since the French New Wave” featuring Jean-Marie Dreujou, Denis Lenoir and Pascale Marin, all members of the AFC, naturellement.   Monsieur Lenoir summed it up succinctly. ”How do directors embrace new cinema technology? They embrace it to increase their creative expression!” Voilá!

And on Tuesday cinematographer David McFarland, Interviewed by ARRI’s Chiara Català, shared insights from his latest feature film “Vindicta”, an intense World War II drama, shot with the ALEXA 35. ”This film carries a lot of beauty within it”, Mr McFarland reflected, ”and the ALEXA 35 was an excellent choice. The main reason I chose it was because of the lens options. Simply put, I knew exactly what I wanted to work with”.

Invariably, the festival days are also rounded out with generous helpings of film screenings, some of which are in competition for Camera 300. And as accompaniment to the Masterclasses with Wally Pfister and Darius Khondji there’s a screening of Christopher Nolan’s ”Inception” (2010) on Tuesday evening, and ”Eddington” (2025) directed by Ari Aster is shown Wednesday night.

British cinematographer Nigel Walters BSC has been instrumental in making the Manaki festival what it is nowadays, and has done so much for spreading awareness and promoting it on both sides of the Atlantic. But sadly last year he confided that that might be his last visit to the festival, and this time around he didn’t feel well enough to come here.  I also notice, and hear from some of my fellow festival visitors, that in one respect this time around there is an unfortunate change reminiscent of what it’s like at many of the larger festivals out there, in that the biggest celebrities are kept separate from the rest of us. Part of the charm of the Manaki Festival was always the accessibility of everyone, regardless of fame or stature, how you could simply bump into one another on the pavement or in a café. Hopefully this seclusion was only something that happened accidentally this time around and is not a trend for the future.

There is also such a thing as ’The Manakians’. No, it’s not some new reality TV show. We guests at the festival, jury members, cinematographers, panelists, movie enthusiasts in general, proudly refer to ourselves as ’Manakians’. And the Manakians sometimes mix with the locals. Such as the other night, when a bunch of us having decided on a popular local restaurant for dinner, found ourselves in the middle of a family celebrating a woman’s 90th birthday! Manakians and locals ended up singing and dancing together.

Wednesday evening, when the Minister of Culture and Tourism Zoran Ljutkov handed over the Golden Camera 300 for Lifetime Achievement to Darius Khondji AFC ASC in a beautifully staged ceremony, it marked the culmination of a day devoted to the illustrious French cinematographer, who dedicated the award to his wife Marianne. Capable of emulating any visual style, he has created a catalogue of work distinguished by strong contrasts and expertly molded shadows.  During the Masterclass that same morning Khondji emphasized that ”the most important thing in my work is to help directors make their vision come true”. But when asked which film he is the most proud of, Khondji asserted that none of his work in Cinematography comes close to the pride he feels for his own children. 

 Memorable presentations on Thursday included a very enjoyable lens comparison test led by Denis Lenoir AFC -arranged almost like a wine tasting, and a panel called ”Women in Cinematography” hosted by Leitz’s Vika Safrigina and featuring among others David Heuring, Lucy Price and Barnaby Laws. A very poignant Tribute piece to Ron Johanson OAM ACS was also screened which once again reminded us all what a terrible loss his passing has been for the international community of cinematographers. 

Friday is the last day of the festival, and valuable advice for newcomers how to get a foot in the door of the movie industry is given by Lucy Price, Sarah Campbell and Ranjinder Hans in the panel ”Talent Agents” before it’s time for the Wally Pfister Masterclass in the packed Manaki Cinema.  He of course has rock star status with this crowd, and when he pretends to be a social sciences teacher, entering the stage with a ”Good morning, class! Today we will discuss democracy and…” he gets a big laugh and we’re off on a delightful two-hour conversation between moderator Zlatko Geleski and Pfister, who have a very good rapport going, full of innuendo and little jokes. For instance, when Pfister admits that ”when I first read the script for ’Memento’ I didn’t understand it at all…”

”But then you read it backwards?” Zlatko Geleski suggests, jokingly.

But a key takeaway is how Wally, who has a passion for music and is an accomplished guitarist, frequently makes comparisons between how you must hone your craft and should not be struggling to find a certain chord as a musician, and by the same token how compositions and lighting strategies need to become second nature to you if you’re going to be able to work quickly at a high level of excellence as a cinematographer.

And when early on, during the Friday evening closing ceremony in the Cultural Center, Wally Pfister is announced as recipient of this year’s Special Golden Camera 300 for Outstanding Contribution to World Cinema, an enormous cheering erupts throughout the audience as the lights go down and we are shown a short montage. And if anyone had any doubts how instrumental this man has been in creating some of the most iconic cinematic imagery throughout the past 20 years… Heath Ledger’s Joker, the spinning corridor from ”Inception”, it’s all up there on the screen… 

There are too many awards throughout the evening to cover here, but judging from the applause and ovations, there are obviously some major audience favorites among the recipients! Kiril Dzajkovski wins the Great star of Macedonian Cinema award, the students deserve a special mention, and Leon Hortrich won that one with the enticingly titled ”the unicorn in snow pants suddenly ran off”. Luca Coussin won the Iron Camera 300 in the Documentary category with ”L’Mina”, Silver Camera 300 went to Olympia Mythinaiou GSC for ”Quiet life” and Golden Camera 300 went to David Chambille for ”Nouvelle Vague”, and how fitting that the award was handed over by none other than Jury Chairman Denis Lenoir AFC. The ceremony is capped off with a screening of ”Dj Ahmet” directed by Georgi M. Unkovski and lensed by Naum Doksevski, MSC.

Although most of us are able to attend the spectacular wrap party that follows at the nearby historical Military Academy building, one can tell that the ranks of  the Manakians have been thinned out. Soon one by one we must all catch our respective flights back home. But the camaraderie continues in an online group chat, and we all vow to meet up again in Bitola for next year’s festival!

Lars Pettersson FSF