Milcho Manchevski, still best-known for his 1994 feature, Before the Rain, directed Mothers (Macedonian: Majki), a film anthology that’s innovative in its blend of fiction and documentary.
World-premiering at the 2010 Toronto Film Fest, Mothers had its European premiere in the Panorama section of the Berlin Film Fest.
The three stories focus on various aspects of life in the contemporary Republic of Macedonia, set in a city, a small town, and a deserted village.
All three tales (two fiction and one non-fiction) are based on real events, but only one– the most incredible–is told as a documentary.
This story examines the unsolved mystery of the Kichevo serial killer who had murdered several retired cleaning women. A crime reporter who covered the stories was later arrested, and two days later, he was found dead (his head in bucket of water), with suicide note in his cell.
The anthology highlights the delicate relationship of truth and fiction, drama and documentary, while probing the very nature of truth as well that of filmic reality.