Skopje, 26 July 2022 (MIA) – Teona Strugar Mitevska’s feature film "The Happiest Man in the World" will compete at this year’s Venice Film Festival, which constitutes the country’s first participation in an official competition program after almost 30 years. The film in the “Horizons” competition program alongside some 20 other movies will vie for awards, including best direction, best film, best male or female leading role, best script, and a special award from the judges. The Macedonian Film Agency has funded the film, produced by Labina Mitevska. It’s a co-production between North Macedonia, Slovenia, Croatia, BiH, Belgium and Denmark. The Film Agency, Creative Europe – MEDIA, Eurimage, the Danish Film Institute, Belgium Tax Shelter, the Croatian Audiovisual Center and the Sarajevo Film Fund have backed the development and production. “Macedonian films are successful, as proven by their numerous participations in renowned festivals, as well as the nominations and awards that they get”, Film Agency head Bojan Lazarevski told a news conference Tuesday. “Over the past few years, Macedonian films have participated in all the important festivals in Europe and worldwide, not with the intention to win a participation trophy, but to win big awards at these festivals,” Lazarevski said. According to the Film Agency director, Macedonian filmmakers have a distinct style, recognizable worldwide. “The selection for the Venice Film Festival competition program for 'The Happiest Man in the World' is a huge success in and of itself. We expect an excellent presentation, and we hope to win awards because we have faith in this project,” Lazarevski added. Producer Labina Mitevska said that Mitevski Siblings Production continued its cooperation with one of the biggest sales agents in the world, the French company Pyramide. “About 30 years ago, I had the honor to be in Venice with 'Before the Rain', and Milcho Manchevski’s 'Dust' followed the next year. I have a deep sentimental connection to the Venice Festival. I stepped onto the red carpet there for the first time as a teenager and I was enchanted. Since then, I haven't returned with a film project of my own, and I’m incredibly thrilled to be back with Teona Strugar Mitevska’s film, at one of the three most significant and prestigious festivals,” the producer said at the press conference. The film was shot primarily in Skopje over the course of five weeks, in the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University Library, and another week in Sarajevo. Some preparations were done in Slovenia, whereas postproduction, sound and image editing were done in Denmark, and sound design in Belgium. It stars Jelena Kordic Kuret and Adnan Omerovic, with a supporting cast consisting of Labina Mitevska, Ana Kostovska, Nikolina Kujaca, as well as Firdauz Nebi, Xhevdet Jashari and Zorica Nusheva from Macedonia in a series of supporting roles alongside Ksenija Marinkovic from Croatia, Izudin Bajrovic, Irma Alimanovic, Vedrana Bozinovic, Mona Muratovic, Sinica Vidovic and Kemal Rizvanovic from BiH. A predominantly female crew worked on the movie. Elma Tataragic co-wrote the script alongside Teona, Virginie Saint Marten from Belgium is the director of photography, Monika Lorber from Slovenia was in charge of costume design, and Mojca Gorogranc Petrushevska did the makeup. Per Kierkegaard from Denmark edited the film, and Ingrid Simone from Belgium designed the sound. Kirijana Nikolovska was in charge of casting, Rasa Petrovic was the first assisting director, and Elena Stanisheva directed the film. "The Happiest Man in the World" deals with the difficulty of making the necessary peace to move on with one’s life after a war. Sarajevo was under siege for four years, terrorized with sniper rifles that took the lives of numerous innocent people. It follows the life of Asja, a 40-year-old woman who signs up for an organized partner-seeking event, where she meets Zoran, who’s there to meet Asja in particular, but he’s not searching for love. dk/ba/