Skopje, 29 May 2024 (MIA) – Macedonian director and screenwriter Stole Popov will be presented with the Golden Lens award at a ceremony Wednesday at the Cinematheque of North Macedonia. 

“Popov is awarded this recognition for his outstanding contribution to the development of Macedonian cinema, his body of work and the mark he has left in the national film industry as a film auteur, producer, screenwriter and professor, who has been also influential in establishing cultural policies for the development of national cinema,” said the Cinematheque.

At the ceremony after being presented with the award, Popov will talk about his cinematic opus and experience at an event moderated by film critic Ilindenka Petrusheva. 

His 1991 seminal movie “Tattooing” will be screened Wednesday evening at 8 pm, followed by a Q&A session with the award-winning director, moderated by film directors Sasha Stanishic and Jane Altiparmakov, one of Popov’s former students at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts. 

This year, the Cinematheque will award another recognition at today’s ceremony, namely the Special Golden Lens, which goes to Kiro Velkov, a film technician, cinematographer and film archivist.

Introduced 15 years ago, the Golden Lens award is presented to mark the Cinematheque’s anniversary of its establishment in 1974. 

Previous Golden Lens award winners include filmmakers Branko Gapo, Trajche Popov, Kiril Cenevski, Kole Angelovski and Kole Manev; production sound mixer Gligor Pakovski; animator and cartoonist Darko Markovikj; and directors of photography Dragan Salkovski, Ljube Petkovski, and Blagoja Drnkov.

Photo: Cinematheque