Directed by Dina Duma, drama, 90 min, eng subtitles, 16+
Written by Dina Duma, Martin Ivanov
With Antonija Belazelkoska, Mia Giraud, Hanis Bagashov
Teenagers Maya and Jana are inseparable and do everything together. Headstrong Jana usually takes the lead and Maya follows. One night at a party they catch Elena, the most popular girl in school, having sex on video with Maya’s long-term crush. Posting the video on Instagram, a simple click away, can ruin a person’s life.
Timely and significant, Duma’s feature urges a reflection about our “digital me”, the impact these “hybrid” worlds have on young people’s lives and the “Insta wars” when every smartphone potentially turns into a gun. She creates an intricate, self-contained cinematic world reflected in the creative geography of the capital, Skopje, in which Maya's and Jana's coming of age takes place. When "the good ones stay silent”, the mysterious Matka Canyon - offering an escape to young people from the City and the eyes of adults - can become a war ground where evil is safeguarded by the indifference of nature...
Winner of the Special Jury Prize in this year’s East of the West competition at Karlovy Vary IFF, Sisterhood is Dina Duma’s promising feature debut exploring the phenomenon of social media bullying, the “slut-shaming” of young women and the boundaries between our recorded and lived lives.