Macedonian producer and actress Labina Mitevska has won this year’s EURIMAGES INTERNATIONAL CO-PRODUCTION AWARD. Mitevska was an honorary guest of the gala for the 37th European Film Awards on 7 December in Lucerne, where she personally accepted the award.
Founded in 2001 in North Macedonia, production company Sisters and Brother Mitevski has co-produced nine films with Eurimages support, including six as majority co-producer.
This award is “a tribute to the talent of a family business passionately dedicated to European cinema. It rewards the craftmanship of high-quality independent cinema achieved through numerous outstanding international co-productions that are the pride of the Eurimages Fund”.
“I can very rarely speak Macedonian. Thank you for this. 25 years ago, I was the first female producer for a long time, and my sister Teona was the first director. It took us years and years to prove ourselves in a very macho Balkan society. We were women and we wanted change – to prove that film is not only and exclusively for male film professionals. We wanted to make European co-productions with the inclusion of more women and most importantly, we wanted to make uncompromising films. It was not easy and it still is not. But we believed that art, film would change the world. Today, we also believe that film will change the world, it will give us a different perspective on the world,” said Labina at the European Film Awards ceremony.