NEON has acquired the North American rights to Honeyland, the wistfully delicate and visually stunning documentary from Macedonian filmmaking duo Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska. The film marks NEON’s fifth acquisition out of Sundance, with the company landing more films than any other key player at Sundance this year.
Honeyland has gathered rave reviews following its World Premiere in Sundance, receiving three jury prizes for: World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary, World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Cinematography and World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Originality.
Nestled in an isolated mountain region deep within the Balkans, Hatidze Muratova lives with her ailing mother in a village without roads, electricity or running water. She’s the last in a long line of wild beekeepers, eking out a living farming honey in small batches to be sold in the closest city – a mere four hours' walk away. Hatidze’s peaceful existence is thrown into upheaval by the arrival of an itinerant family, with their roaring engines, seven rambunctious children and herd of cattle.
Directors Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska say “Honeyland began as just another simple story, but it grew to become so much more. We are so proud of the final film, and there is no better way to get immersed in it than to experience it on the big screen. Thank you, NEON, for the opportunity to bring Honeyland to audiences the way we always wanted it to be seen.”
Stefanov and Kotevska’s debut feature was produced and edited by Atanas Georgiev and stars Hatidze Muratova, Nazife Muratova, Hussein Sam, Ljutvie Sam, and Mustafa Sam, with cinematography by Fejmi Daut and Samir Ljuma.
Submarine Entertainment is handling sales. The deal was negotiated by NEON and Submarine on behalf of the filmmakers.
NEON premiered Todd Douglas Miller’s stunning cinematic event, Apollo 11 and John Chester’s The Biggest Little Farm at Sundance 2019, and had an impressive hot streak of acquisitions, nabbing the rights to Alejandro Landes’ cinematic thriller, Monos, Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala's horror film, The Lodge, Abe Forsythe’s Little Monsters, and Julius Onah’s Luce. NEON recently garnered an Academy Award® nomination for Border and continues to acquire some of the most anticipated titles, including: Tom Harper’s Wild Rose starring Jessie Buckley; and Bong Joon-Ho’s highly-anticipated drama Parasite.
ABOUT NEON:
2018 was a record-breaking year for NEON, with the release of Craig Gillespie’s runaway hit I, Tonya starring Margot Robbie and the Academy Award winner for best supporting actress, Allison Janney, as well as Matt Spicer's Sundance and Independent Spirit Award-Winner Ingrid Goes West. Three years after inception, the company continues to push the boundaries and take creative risks on bold content.
NEON acquired three of the most talked about features at last year’s Sundance Film Festival: Reinaldo Marcus Green's Monsters & Men, winner of the Sundance Dramatic Special Jury Award for Outstanding First Feature; Sam Levinson's Assassination Nation; and Tim Wardle's Three Identical Strangers, winner of the Sundance Special Jury Award for Storytelling which has surpassed $13m at the box office. Upcoming releases include: Harmony Korine’s The Beach Bum, John Chester’s The Biggest Little Farm, the electrifying Amazing Grace, and Todd Douglas Miller’s cinematic event, Apollo 11, which just had its World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
After their successful collaboration on I, Tonya, in January 2018, 30WEST (Dan Friedkin's and Micah Green's strategic venture) partnered with NEON's Tom Quinn (Founder & CEO) and Tim League (Co-Founder) to become majority investors in the company.
ABOUT Trice Films:
Trice Films Is a Macedonian Production Company focused on making creative groundbreaking documentaries, independently or in partnership with other production companies.
We always seek to find exceptional stories from wherever they may come and to connect them to a worldwide audience with post-production being our forte.