Manchevski Premieres 'Good People' at Sarajevo Festival
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- Milcho Manchevski premiered "Good People" at the Sarajevo Film Festival documentary competition — his first feature documentary in a 30-plus-year career — chronicling survivors of the March 16, 2025 Pulse nightclub fire in Kočani, North Macedonia, which killed 63 and injured 193
- Manchevski began filming one month after the tragedy and used a deliberately "ascetic, austere and minimalist" approach — black backgrounds, no archival footage, no guiding voice-over — saying "our job was to stay out of the way"
- The Pulse nightclub was unlicensed and lacked sufficient emergency exits and working fire extinguishers; the disaster, the deadliest fire in Macedonian history, triggered nationwide venue inspections and dozens of shutdowns
- Manchevski alleges the Macedonian Film Agency blacklisted him after he reported corruption in 2020 and 2022, forcing him to self-finance the film; he says all proceeds will go to Kočani survivors
- After winning two court cases against the Film Agency, Manchevski produced two films simultaneously; his next feature, black comedy "Sister Brother Manhole Cover" — a six-country co-production — is handled by Rome-based Coccinelle Film Sales
- Manchevski first screened his Golden Lion–winning debut "Before the Rain" at Sarajevo in 1995, arriving in a UN armored vehicle while the city was still under Bosnian War siege
Why it matters: Manchevski's premiere closes a 30-year Sarajevo arc from his 1995 Golden Lion screening, and frames the Pulse fire — which killed 63 at an unlicensed club and triggered nationwide venue shutdowns — through a director who alleges his own Macedonian Film Agency blacklisted him for reporting corruption and forced self-financing, with all proceeds pledged to survivors.
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