The last female bee-hunter in Europe must save the bees and return the natural balance in Honeyland when a family of nomadic beekeepers invade her land and threaten her livelihood. This film is an exploration of an observational Indigenous visual narrative that deeply impacts our behavior towards natural resources and the human condition.
Secluded far away in the Macedonian mountains, Beekeeper Hatidze lives a less than modest life caring for her ill mother and cultivating honey she sells at the market in Skopje. Being aligned with nature, she practices a more traditional way of beekeeping using old rituals like chanting, which brings comfort to the bees and allows them to produce honey on their own. When a rumbustious family moves next door, they not only disrupt the peace but begin destroying her beehives by invading their natural habitat forcing them to produce honey in order to earn quick money.
Newly arrived, a Turkish couple moves onto the property next door. They bring tons of children, farm animals and not one ounce of respect for nature. They are loud, they drink and the children are disrespectful. They are mean to their animals and do not care for them; in fact, many cattle die due to the lack of food and water. Hatidze tries to bond with them at first, giving them a chance. She spends time with the little children and teaches the family the right way to start their own beehive.
After building a small hive, the neighbor makes a deal with a friend to sell lots of honey but has problems producing it faster than the bees will naturally make. Desperate and going against Hatidze’s teachings, he tries different tactics to produce more honey, disturbing the bees’ cycle. As they become dangerously aggressive they begin stinging his whole family and bees travel to Hatidze’s hives disrupting them as well. Hatidze demands that they keep their bees away from hers but they do not comply. They began starting fires, burning down precious trees, claiming it will help create new land. Hatidze is heartbroken and doesn’t know what she can do but keep trying to care for herself and her mother.
When the neighbors cut down a huge tree containing a hive, they accidentally kill off the queen bee and eventually the other bees die. From beginning to end, this film will captivate you from the amazing cinematography to the emotional finale. You feel so much for Hatidze surviving with no electricity or running water, caring for her elderly mother but still happy and humbled just living off the land. But the second those neighbors move in, the energy just transforms you. Just a warning, the ending is sad but hopeful. I love this film, very eye-opening.
In theaters Friday, July 26th
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