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The International Cinematographers Film Festival “Manaki Brothers” in Bitola is organized by the Macedonian Film Professionals Association (MFPA).

Founded 21 May 1950, MFPA represents the interests of film professionals and film authors in our country. Besides looking after its members’ rights and interests, MFPA fosters the professional development and growth of film creativity in the Republic of Macedonia. The Association aims to strengthen Macedonian cinematography and to ensure its continuity amid different activities. From year to year, MFPA offers significant contribution to Macedonian cinema and affirms world film art here in our country. One of the main activities of MFPA is the International Cinematographers Film Festival “Manaki Brothers”

Each year, the ICFF “Manaki Brothers” is held in Bitola under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Macedonia and is supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Macedonia. The Festival’s remarkable profile, whose mandate is enriched from year to year, is attractive to both film professionals and film aficionados from all over the world.

The main part of the Festival’s program belongs to Camera 300 – the Official Competition of Long Feature Films from the most recent European and world production. The cinematographers of these films contend for the Golden, Silver and Bronze Camera 300, awarded by the Festival’s International Jury, currently composed of five members.

Beside the Official Competition, the Festival shows a Short Film Program that is non-competitive and presents outstanding films from the latest production year. In addition, the Student Program “Manaki Brothers” is dedicated to young, talented filmmakers. Within the frame of the festival program are also workshops, seminars, and roundtables.

The Festival is renown for its Life Achievement Award – a Golden Camera 300 awarded to outstanding and leading world cinematographers. Up to now, our laureates in the “Club of Greats” are the following: Vittorio Storaro, Vadim Yusov, Raoul Coutard, Tonino Delli Colli, Miroslav Ondricek, Henry Alekan, Freddie Francis, Jerzy Wojcik, Sven Nykvist, Branko Mihajlovski, Ljube Petkovski and Milton Manaki.

The Festival espouses strong relations, cooperating with other festivals from the region and beyond. Since 2002, it is a member of the European Coordination of Film Festivals (ECFF). Through the years, ICFF “Manaki Brothers” has gained many sincere friends from the sphere of film from all over the world. Today, it enjoys a unique reputation as one of the few festivals specifically honoring the art and creativity of the cinematographer.

International Cinematographers Film Festival MANAKI BROTHERS will hand a Special Award Golden Camera 300 to the Croatian Director VELJKO BULAJIC


One of the winners this year, of the Special Award “GOLDEN CAMERA 300” for outstanding contribution to the world Cinema at the 29th ICFF MANAKI BROTHERS is the leading Croatian Director Veljko Bulajic.

Veljko Bulajic was born on 23th of March 1928 in Vilusi, Montenegro (ex-Yugoslavia).

The history of the film art has a special place for Veljko Bulajic in the establishment of the Croatian and ex-Yugoslav cinematography.

His first feature film TRAIN WITHOUT A TIME TABLE (1959) is considered the turning point setting the highest criteria in ex-Yugoslavian Cinema. At the Festival in Cannes, the critics presented the film as a significant creation of the world cinematography as well. The French critics included it among the ten best films of the year.

Bulajic’s upward movement in the world Cinema was marked by his film KOZARA (1962), the Golden Medal Award winner at the International Film Festival in Moscow. KOZARA was equally successful in the East and in the West. Here, the author shows a new dimension of the war film. The mark of the French director Francois Truffaut, film author with a completely different poetics, brought forth to the artistic values of the film: ”KOZARA crushed the prejudice that the war film cannot bring anything new”.

While KOZARA was achieving success on every continent, Bulajic completed the documentary feature film SKOPJE’63 (1964, shot after the catastrophic earthquake in Skopje in 1963). The film received a number of important awards: Grand Prix “Golden Lion Saint Marco” in Venice, Grand Prix “Golden Nymph” in Monte Carlo, the UNESCO Award “KALINGA”, these are but a few of the important awards that followed the world campaign of this documentary film.

THE BATTLE OF NERETVA (1969) is a war spectacle in its form and was also screened through the world. In 1970, the film was nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

Other films of Veljko BULAJIC:
WAR (1960); BOOM TOWN (1961); LOOKING INTO THE EYES OF THE SUN (1966); DONOR (1969); THE DAY THAT SHOOK THE WORLD (1975); THE MAN TO DESTROY (1979); HIGH VOLTAGE (1981); HEROES (1983); THE PROMISSED LAND (1986); LIBERTAS (2006).