Goran Stolevski’s latest film, Housekeeping for Beginners, is slated to hit Australian cinemas from 9 May this year, thanks to distributor Maslow Entertainment.
The film made its World Premiere at the Venice Film Festival as part of the official Orizzonti (Horizons) competitive section, where it secured the prestigious Queer Lion Award.
Directed by acclaimed Macedonian-Australian filmmaker Goran Stolevski (You Won’t Be Alone, Of An Age), and selected as North Macedonia’s international Oscar submission shortly after its premiere in Venice’s Horizons strand, Housekeeping for Beginners explores the family dynamic, encompassing both the bonds we inherit and those we create.
The film revolves around Dita, who, despite never aspiring to be a mother, finds herself compelled to raise her girlfriend’s two daughters – Mia, a tiny troublemaker, and Vanesa, a rebellious teenager. As their individual wills clash, a heartwarming story unfolds about an unlikely family’s struggle to stay together.
Read: Cinema guide: new films in Australia this week
Watch the trailer for Housekeeping for Beginners below:
The film stars Anamaria Marinca, Alina Serban, Samson Selim, Vladimir Tintor, Mia Mustafa, Dzada Selim, Sara Klimoska, Rozafë Çelaj, and Ajse Useini.
Our reviewer Stephen Russell first saw the film at MIFF, where he sung its praises: ‘Before long, you’ll want to move in too and throwdown to the glorious tune of Balkan pop bangers this happy chosen family intermittently holler along with.’
‘It’s a hot mess in the very best way, and when all of this does, eventually, lead to an unlikely union, Ali’s assurance to Mia that love between a gay man and his lesbian best friend might just be the strongest, most enduring love of all is a radiant beam in a film full of refracted light spun into a rainbow,’ wrote Russell in October 2023.
Read: Housekeeping for Beginners review: a luminous tribute to found family
Housekeeping for Beginners was produced by List Production, Madants, Kinorama, Sense Production, and Industria Film, in collaboration with Film I Väst, CommonGround Pictures, and Causeway Films (Talk To Me, The Babadook), and in association with Tango, New Europe Film Sales, and the Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund.
The production received essential support from the North Macedonian Film Agency, Croatian Audiovisual Center, Film Center Serbia, Polish Film Institute, and Kosovo Cinematography Center.
The team of producers behind the film includes Marija Dimitrova, Klaudia Śmieja-Rostworowska, Ankica Jurić Tilić, Beata Rzeźniczek, Milan Stojanović, and Blerta Basholli.
Other upcoming Australian releases handled by Maslow include horror flick Late Night with the Devil ( in cinemas 11 April), and kid’s film Combat Wombat: Back 2 Back (in cinemas 29 February)
Housekeeping for Beginners is in cinemas from 9 May 2024.
