Milcho Manchevski

Macedonian-American film director

Milcho Manchevski (Macedonian: Милчо Манчевски,  pronounced [ˈmilt͡ʃɔ ˈmant͡ʃɛfski] ⓘ)[1] is a Macedonian-American film director, photographer and artist.[2][3]

## Life

[edit]

Milcho Manchevski was born on 18 October 1959 in Skopje, SR Macedonia, SFR Yugoslavia. He studied at the Faculty of Philosophy in Skopje's University.[4] Manchevski's Before the Rain was called "one of the greatest debut feature films in the history of cinema" by Annette Insdorf. The New York Times included it in its Guide to the Best 1,000 Films Ever Made list.[5][6][7] It won the Golden Lion in Venice, Independent Spirit, was nominated for an Academy Award and won 30 other awards.

He has made the multiple award-winning films, such as Dust, Shadows,[5] Mothers, Bikini Moon and Willow. In addition, he's directed many music videos and shorts as such The End of Time, Thursday, Macedonia Timeless,  Tennessee and 1.73. For Macedonia Timeless, which was during the term of prime minister Nikola Gruevski, he directed clips depicting a continuity between Alexander the Great's ancient Macedonia and Republic of Macedonia (now North Macedonia).[8] He was elected as an honorary ambassador to New York in 2007. Manchevski is also an honorary member of the Writers' Association of Macedonia.[4]

Manchevski won the Best Director award at the 2020 Raindance Film Festival for Willow.[9]

## Filmography

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### Feature films

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Year  | Film  | Director  | Writer  | Producer  | Awards / Notes

|
|
|
|
|

1994  | Before the Rain[6] | Yes  | Yes  | No  | Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival, Independent Spirit, Academy Award nomination, FIPRESCI
2001  | Dust[10][11] | Yes  | Yes  | No  | Golden Reel Award Nomination (Best Sound Editing), 2002
2007  | Shadows[5][6] | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Syracuse Film Festival, 2008: Best Actress nomination, Vesna Stanojevska, Park City Film Music Festival
2010  | Mothers[12] | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | FEST: Special Jury Prize in the selection Europe Out of Europe, 2011, FEDEORA
2017  | Bikini Moon[13][14] | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Directors' Week Special Jury Award at Fantasporto
2019  | Willow | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Best Director at Raindance; Best Feature Film at Cinequest, Mostra de València – Silver Palm
2022  | Kaymak | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  |
2025  | Leaving Copacabana | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Filming [15]

### Short films

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* The End of Time (2017)
* Thursday (2013)
* Buddies: Race – Skopsko for Us (2015)
* Buddies: Filip – Skopsko for Us (2015)
* Buddies: Green Car – Skopsko for Us (2015)
* Macedonia Timeless: Mountains (2008)
* Macedonia Timeless: Temples (2008)
* Macedonia Timeless: Archaeology (2008)

### Television

[edit]

* The Wire ("Game Day") (2002)[6]

### Music videos

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* Kiril Dzajkovski – Red Safari (2019)
* Kiril Dzajkovski – Dawn (2019)
* Krte Rodzevski – Eh Ljubov (2019)
* Nina Spirova – Eden baknez (2007)
* Kiril Dzajkovski – Jungle Shadow (2007)
* Kiril Dzajkovski – Primitive Science (2001)
* Kiril Dzajkovski – The Dead Are Waiting (2001)
* Kiril Dzajkovski – Brothel Tango (2001)
* Roachford – This Generation (1994)
* Arno Hintjens – Vive ma liberte (1993)
* George Lamond – Baby I Believe in You (1992)
* Sonia Dada – You Ain't Thinking (About Me) (1992)
* School of Hard Knocks – A Dirty Cop Named Harry (1992)
* Arrested Development – Tennessee (1991)[16]
* Riff – If You're Serious (1991)
* Deskee – Kid Get Hyped (1991)
* Partners in Kryme – Undercover (1990)
* Bastion – Hot Day in Mexico (1985)
* Leb i sol – Aber dojde, Donke (1983)

## References

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1. ^ "Milcho Manchevski: Full Biography". maccinema.com. Kinoteka na Makedonija. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
2. ^ Gordana P. Crnkovic (2012). Post-Yugoslav Literature and Film: Fires, Foundations, Flourishes. A&C Black. p. 79\. ISBN 9781441171771.
3. ^ Radmila Gorup, ed. (2013). After Yugoslavia: The Cultural Spaces of a Vanished Land. Stanford University Press. p. 125\. ISBN 9780804787345.
4. ^ a b Blaže Ristovski, ed. (2009). Macedonian Encyclopedia (in Macedonian). Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts. p. 914.
5. ^ a b c Holden, Stephen (January 29, 2009). "A Macedonian Ghost Story, Directed by Milcho Manchevski". The New York Times. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
6. ^ a b c d Dawson, Nick (March 8, 2017). "Milcho Manchevski, Shadows". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
7. ^ Nichols, P.M.; Scott, A.O. (2004). The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made. Film Critics of the New York Times. St. Martin's Press. p. 91\. ISBN 978-0-312-32611-1. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
8. ^ Fabio Mattioli (2020). Dark Finance: Illiquidity and Authoritarianism at the Margins of Europe. Stanford University Press. p. 59\. ISBN 9781503612945.
9. ^ "Raindance Film Festival Announced from London". 6 November 2020. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
10. ^ "Retrospective of Milcho Manchevski's Work to Be Held in Brazil – Independent.mk". independent.mk. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
11. ^ History in Dust: An Interview with Milcho Manchevski Roderick Coover Film Quarterly; Winter 2004/2005; 58, 2; ProQuest Direct Complete, p. 2
12. ^ Senjanovic, Natasha (February 21, 2011). "Mothers: Berlin Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
13. ^ Bruno Carmelo (2017-10-25). "Mostra de São Paulo 2017: "A Internet ainda não ajudou o cinema como ajudou a música", afirma Milcho Manchevski, diretor de Bikini Moon" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2017-11-08.
14. ^ Gui, Augusto (2017-10-21). "Bikini Moon [Resenha do Filme]" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2017-11-08.
15. ^ Petkovic, Vladan (16 July 2025). "EXCLUSIVE: Milcho Manchevski starts filming Leaving Copacabana". Cineuropa. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
16. ^ Bode, Gus (6 June 1997). "When Milcho Manchevski graduated from SIUC's film school in 1982, he had no idea that he would one day write and direct an Oscar nominated film". Daily Egyptian. Retrieved 25 March 2017.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Milcho Manchevski.

* Official website
* Milcho Manchevski at IMDb
* Vimeo Manchevski
* In Conversation: Macedonian Mythmaking: Milcho Manchevski with Conor McGrady & Dario Šolman, The Brooklyn Rail An interview
* Official YouTube Channel
* Milcho Manchevski on Instagram

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Films directed by Milcho Manchevski

* Before the Rain (1994)
* Dust (2001)
* Shadows (2007)
* Mothers (2010)
* Bikini Moon (2017)
* Willow (2019)

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