Manaki Brothers Festival in Focus

Posted on August 25th, 2026

As the famous celebration of cinematography prepares for its 47th edition, we sit down with festival director Dimitrija Doksevski to find out more about the event and its extraordinary legacy

Words Nicola Foley / Images Haein Shim

“If someone had told me a few years ago that I would one day be leading the world’s oldest festival for cinematographers, I would probably have smiled politely and gone back to rehearsal,” laughs Dimitrija Doksevski, director of the Manaki Brothers Festival. An actor by trade, Doksevski has enjoyed a varied career on stage and in front of the camera, starring in films including the acclaimed war drama The Third Half in 2012. He believes that, while the festival undoubtedly has an extraordinary heritage – hosting luminaries from Roger Deakins to Sven Nykvist and Vittorio Storaro, and boasting a reputation as one of the world’s most revered film festivals – it must remain ‘alive, curious and relevant’.

“I see the festival as much more than a week of screenings,” he elaborates. “It is a meeting place for artists, students, audiences and industry professionals, and a place where experience is shared across generations and across cultures. If people leave having discovered a new filmmaker, begun a lifelong collaboration or simply fallen in love with cinema all over again, then we have done our job!”

The event takes place each autumn in the historic town of Bitola, Northern Macedonia, taking its name from founders Yanaki and Milton Manaki, who were pioneers of cinematography in the region. Their first piece, a silent black & white film that depicted their grandmother spinning wool, is believed to be the first film shot in the Ottoman Balkans. As their reputation grew, the brothers were invited to become the official photographers of the Ottoman sultan and the king of Yugoslavia, Alexander Karađorđević. They would go on to open their own cinema in Bitola, as well as becoming known for photographing historical events such as the Ilinden Uprising and World War I.

“Every year we speak about the Manaki brothers, and every year I become increasingly convinced that their importance goes far beyond the historical fact that they were among the first cinematographers in the Balkans,” muses Doksevski.

“When Yanaki and Milton pointed their camera at ordinary people, they were preserving time itself. The famous image of their grandmother spinning wool has become iconic because it captures something so human. It reminds us that history is made not only by kings and politicians but also by ordinary people and gestures that would otherwise disappear forever.”

What makes the Manaki Brothers Festival unique, thinks Doksevski, is a friendly, convivial atmosphere where knowledge can be shared at all levels. “There is a great deal of warmth here,” he says. “A student can find themselves chatting with an Academy Award winner over coffee in a way that feels entirely natural. These kinds of encounters can’t be programmed; they happen because the festival has cultivated a culture of openness over nearly five decades.”

The festival has become part of the fabric of Bitola, but also represents something crucial for North Macedonia, says Doksevski. “It reminds us that culture can be one of our strongest international languages. We are fortunate to have a cultural institution that has earned global respect through artistic excellence. When distinguished cinematographers return to Manaki year after year, it’s not out of obligation but because they genuinely value what this festival represents.

“Internationally, Manaki occupies a unique position. That legacy brings responsibility. We are not interested simply in preserving the history; we want to contribute to the future of cinematography by encouraging a dialogue between generations, between different cinematic traditions and different technologies. We want to celebrate existing work, but also help future work begin.”

To that end, education is a core part of the festival, which hosts a variety of masterclasses, workshops and lectures that give young filmmakers access to decades of artistic experience and information on the latest technologies. The festival is organising two three-day workshops for emerging filmmakers: Manaki Next Generation, which is focused on the theme of sound pollution (supported by Creative Europe MEDIA as part of the Network of the Festivals in the Adriatic Region); and the INSAS & Erasmus+ Collaboration, a joint initiative with the renowned Belgian film school INSAS, mentored by Hichame Alaouie and Fejmi Daut, best known for his award-winning work on Honeyland.

Elsewhere on the programme, catch insights from organisations like Women In Cinematography and masterclasses with big names such as Dan Laustsen (Frankenstein, The Shape of Water) and Boris Mojsovski, ASC, CSC, ASBH (12 Monkeys, Titans), plus presentations from brands including Leitz and ARRI.

While the Manaki Brothers Festival has a prestigious spot in the film festival calendar, it is not all plain sailing as the event approaches its 50th anniversary. “A big challenge for us is one shared by almost every cultural institution today: sustainability,” says Doksevski. “Great festivals are not built edition by edition, they are built decade by decade – and that requires long-term partnerships, responsible investment and confidence to think beyond immediate results.

“Fortunately, we are surrounded by partners, institutions and individuals who genuinely believe in the value of this festival. Our task is to honour that trust.”

For anyone attending, Doksevski hopes that they leave not only having discovered some remarkable films and enjoyed the festival’s famed hospitality, but more importantly with a feeling of ‘renewed curiosity’.

“Cinema has a unique ability to slow us down. In everyday life we are constantly encouraged to move faster, to scroll further, to consume more,” he concludes. “A festival invites the opposite. It asks us to sit in a dark room, to pay attention and to share an experience with complete strangers. That simple act has become surprisingly rare.

“If someone boards their flight home carrying a new friendship, a new collaboration or simply a renewed belief in the power of cinema, then the festival has succeeded,” Doksevski says.

Manaki Brothers runs 19-25 September in Bitola. For more information, visit manaki.com.mk