Good People
TITLE
Good People
DIRECTOR
Milcho Manchevski
COUNTRY
North Macedonia
YEAR
2025
DURATION
85′
GENRE
Documentary
Good People
Before March 16, 2025, the sleepy Macedonian town of Kochani was known for its pastoral rice fields. That changed when a devastating fire turned a popular but illegal nightclub into a burning grave. Sixty-three people — mostly young, some underage — died. Over 200 others were severely injured, with many enduring lasting emotional trauma. In less than an hour, nearly an entire generation in this town of 25,000 was lost, marking the darkest moment in North Macedonia’s recent history.
DIRECTOR BIOGRAPHY - Milcho Manchevski
Milcho Manchevski wrote and directed eight features, one feature-length documentary and a number of short forms. He has also authored books of photographs, fiction and non-fiction, and has staged performance art. Manchevski’s acclaimed debut Before the Rain (1994) is considered “one of the greatest debut feature films in the history of cinema” (Annette Insdorf) and “one of the most important films of the decade” (Ann Kibbey). The New York Times included it on its list “Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made.“ It won the Golden Lion in Venice, Independent Spirit, an Academy Award nomination, FIPRESCI, UNESCO, film of the year in Argentina, Sweden, Turkey, Italy and awards in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Poland, Puerto Rico, Russia, etc. “Manchevski continues down his distinctive artistic path” (Hollywood Reporter) with the award-winning features Dust (which opened Venice 2001), Shadows (2007), Mothers (2010), Bikini Moon (2017), Willow (2019), Kaymak (2022) and Sister Brother Manhole Cover (2026), more than 50 short forms, including The End of Time (2017), Thursday (2013), Macedonia Timeless (2010), 1.73 (1984), Arrested Development’s Tennessee (1991) and an episode of HBO`s The Wire (2002). They have been distributed globally, winning awards at Venice, Raindance, Cinequest, Valencia, Sao Paolo, Aspen, Pesaro, Fantasporto, FEDEORA, etc. “Work like this keeps me going. A reminder of the nobility that film can attain.” (Roger Ebert) “His work stands out in world cinema for its unique way of playing with space, time and emotion.” (Keith Brown) “His unique blend of experimentation, poetry, emotion, and a demand for the active participation of the viewer in the construction of meaning are highly praised.” (Conor McGrady). Manchevski’s work is the subject of numerous essays and books; it is part of the curricula at a few hundred universities and has been discoursed at a number of conferences. The University of Leipzig (Germany) and the European University Institute in Florence (Italy) hosted academic conferences dedicated, respectively, to Dust and Before the Rain. Manchevski served as head of the Directing Studies at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts’ Graduate Film program; he also taught at Feirstein Graduate School (Brooklyn College), EICTV (Cuba), VGIK (Russia), etc. He is a member of the Directors Guild of America, European Film Academy and the PEN Club.
- DirectorMilcho Manchevski
- Screenplay Milcho Manchevski
- CinematographyIvan Ivanovski
- Cast
- EditingMiško Čunihin
- Producer/s Milcho Manchevski
- Production Company
- Distributor/s
- Project TitleGood People
- Project TypeDocumentary
- Completion Date16 Aug 2026
- Country of originNorth Macedonia
- Country of filmingNorth Macedonia
- LanguageMacedonian
- First-time Filmmaker No
- Student ProjectNo
Milcho Manchevski
Milcho Manchevski wrote and directed eight features, one feature-length documentary and a number of short forms. He has also authored books of photographs, fiction and non-fiction, and has staged performance art. Manchevski’s acclaimed debut Before the Rain (1994) is considered “one of the greatest debut feature films in the history of cinema” (Annette Insdorf) and “one of the most important films of the decade” (Ann Kibbey). The New York Times included it on its list “Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made.“ It won the Golden Lion in Venice, Independent Spirit, an Academy Award nomination, FIPRESCI, UNESCO, film of the year in Argentina, Sweden, Turkey, Italy and awards in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Poland, Puerto Rico, Russia, etc. “Manchevski continues down his distinctive artistic path” (Hollywood Reporter) with the award-winning features Dust (which opened Venice 2001), Shadows (2007), Mothers (2010), Bikini Moon (2017), Willow (2019), Kaymak (2022) and Sister Brother Manhole Cover (2026), more than 50 short forms, including The End of Time (2017), Thursday (2013), Macedonia Timeless (2010), 1.73 (1984), Arrested Development’s Tennessee (1991) and an episode of HBO`s The Wire (2002). They have been distributed globally, winning awards at Venice, Raindance, Cinequest, Valencia, Sao Paolo, Aspen, Pesaro, Fantasporto, FEDEORA, etc. “Work like this keeps me going. A reminder of the nobility that film can attain.” (Roger Ebert) “His work stands out in world cinema for its unique way of playing with space, time and emotion.” (Keith Brown) “His unique blend of experimentation, poetry, emotion, and a demand for the active participation of the viewer in the construction of meaning are highly praised.” (Conor McGrady). Manchevski’s work is the subject of numerous essays and books; it is part of the curricula at a few hundred universities and has been discoursed at a number of conferences. The University of Leipzig (Germany) and the European University Institute in Florence (Italy) hosted academic conferences dedicated, respectively, to Dust and Before the Rain. Manchevski served as head of the Directing Studies at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts’ Graduate Film program; he also taught at Feirstein Graduate School (Brooklyn College), EICTV (Cuba), VGIK (Russia), etc. He is a member of the Directors Guild of America, European Film Academy and the PEN Club.
