DJ Ahmet (Drama)

Rating:

Director: Georgi M. Unkovski
Producer: Ivana Shekutkoska,Ivan Unkovski
Screenwriter: Georgi M. Unkovski
Cinematographer: Naum Doksevski
Composer: Nenad Sinkauz,Alen Sinkauz
Editor: Michal Reich
Production Designer: Dejan Gosevski,Aleksandra Chevreska
Costume Designer: Roza Trajceska
Key Cast: Arif Jakup,Agush Agushev,Aksel Mehmet,Atila Klince,Selpin Kerim,Dora Akan Zlatanova

A charming coming-of-age story about finding your place in a world where tradition and modernity collide.

Like many 15-year-old boys, Ahmet dreams of something more. Living in a remote village in North Macedonia, he’s tasked with tending to the family’s sheep while his father seeks treatment for his five-year-old brother, Naim, who hasn’t spoken since their mother’s death. So when the music-loving teen stumbles upon a forest rave – and his alluring neighbour, Aya, with her own dreams of escape – his world is opened up.

The debut feature from US-born, Macedonian-raised director Georgi M. Unkovski, DJ Ahmet won the Special Jury Award for Creative Vision in Sundance’s World Cinema Dramatic Competition. The film radiates with an infectious energy, propelled by the performances of local actor Arif Jakup as Ahmet and the expressive young Agush Agushev as Naim. Thoughtfully showcasing the contrast between the expectations of tradition and the temptations of the internet – not least through its memorable soundtrack – DJ Ahmet is for anyone who’s ever felt at odds with their place in society, or yearned to be the shepherd, not the sheep.

“An unforgettable ensemble, laugh-out-loud comedy and heartsore drama … delightfully humorous and unpretentiously stylish.” – Variety


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The session on Friday 22 August is Sensory Friendly. This session will run a little differently from a standard session. To learn about what these changes are, you can check out MIFF’s Access page and review the Sensory Friendly Guide, which will be uploaded here on Thursday 14 August.

Interested in how local DJs found their way onto the scene? MIFF and Skylab invite you to come downstairs for a panel in which Naarm-based DJs reflect on how they navigate upholding cultural identity across packed club floors and empty bar nights, and the unexpected communities they have seen form along the way. This intimate conversation, recorded live for Skylab Radio, explores how music can weave strangers together into something bigger than themselves. Friday 22 August, 6pm, at the MIFF Festival Hub. Free entry.