THE CINEMATIC MACEDONIA BETWEEN EXOTICISM AND PROPAGANDA
THE CINEMATIC MACEDONIA BETWEEN EXOTICISM AND PROPAGANDA

Summary/Abstract: The article is focused on the movies connected with the film industry of the current Macedonian state – the so-called Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia – in order to explore in which way filmmakers conceptualize their national identity, anxieties about history, what sort of iconic repertoire they prefer and why. In other words, this paper analyzes the fluctuating policies of representation manifested in the cinematic works shot by two very popular in their native country directors – Milcho Manchevski and Darko Mitrevski. The general hypothesis is that the amazing variety of even mutually exclusive representations stemmed from the highly problematic historical continuity between Macedonian state and its deliberately constructed past. The vision for this extremely mythologized past was promoted through the medium of the educational system, film superproductions but, above all, the state institutional efforts for creating a new national identity attained their symbolic apogee in the implementation of the Skopje 2014 Project. The author comments the shifting models in imagining Macedonia in movies from the early 90‑ies till now (2010 – 2014) when the official authorities formulated a clear strategy on national history and identity. Cinema occupies an important place in the overall process of the visual rewriting of the past.

• Details
• Contents