Milcho Manchevski film to premiere at Tokyo International Film Festival

Director Milcho Manchevski’s new film, ‘Sister Brother Manhole Cover’, has been selected for the main competition at the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival. The film is a co-production involving North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Albania, Italy, and England.

A blend of comedy and drama, the story follows siblings Malina and Viktor living on the fringes of society in post-Communist Macedonia. They survive by stealing bronze sculptures and manhole covers to sell as scrap metal. The plot intensifies when a theft goes wrong, leaving Viktor seriously injured and forcing the pair into a dangerous journey through the Macedonian underworld.

This marks Manchevski’s ninth feature film. The filmmaker, who previously won the Golden Lion at Venice for ‘Before the Rain’, has recently experienced a period of high productivity following a period where he was reportedly barred from producing films in his home country after reporting corruption within the Macedonian Film Agency.