Masterclasses with Labina Mitevska & Teona Mitevska
This year, TIFF welcomes two important voices from North Macedonia’s contemporary cinema for two masterclasses exploring what happens behind and beyond the screen.
On 22 September, acclaimed producer and actress Labina Mitevska presents a Case Study of “Mother”, offering an inside look at the development, financing, production and international collaboration behind Teona Mitevska’s latest film.
On 23 September, filmmaker Teona Mitevska leads IN TO DIRECTING, a masterclass exploring her approach to directing, storytelling, developing complex characters and translating a personal perspective into cinema.
Together, the two sessions offer two sides of the filmmaking process: how a story is brought into existence, and how it is transformed into a cinematic language.
HUMANOGRAPHY is about the people behind the image, the ideas, choices, relationships and experiences that shape the stories we see on screen.
CASE STUDY OF “MOTHER” with Labina Mitevska
22 September 2026 | 11:00 | Villa 31 × Art Explora
How to Co-Produce Across Borders Without Compromising the Director’s Vision?
Mother is a case study in the complexity—and the possibilities—of contemporary European co-production.
How do you make an ambitious auteur film across 7 countries, 16 funding sources, multiple co-producers, a sales agent, international distributors and broadcasters, while protecting the quality, identity and original vision of the director?
Every additional partner brings new opportunities, but also new expectations. Different countries have different funding systems and cultural requirements. Public funds have eligibility and territorial rules. Broadcasters have audiences and scheduling priorities. Distributors think about their territories and markets. Sales agents need to position the film internationally. Co-producers bring their own expertise, responsibilities and interests.
At the centre of all of this, however, there is still one film—and one director’s vision.
Labina Mitevska comes from an artistic family and began her career in theatre at an early age. She started her acting career as a teenager in 1993, playing Zamira in Milcho Mancevski’s Golden Lion awarded film Before the Rain. In 1996 she entered into a successful collaboration with Michael Winterbottom. Following Welcome to Sarajevo they worked together in I Want You. For these accomplishments she was chosen as one of the Shooting Stars at the Berlinale. Her acting carrier continued around Europe, creating over 30 roles in films shot in Germany, Czech Republic, Turkey, Italy, Bulgaria, and Slovenia. In 2001, she founded the production company Sisters and Brother Mitevski with her sister, director Teona Strugar Mitevska, and brother, artist Vuk Mitevski. She produced acclaimed independent films, including God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunija. She received the prestigious Eurimages International Co-Production Award at the European Film Awards in 2024.
IN TO DIRECTING with Teona Strugar Mitevska
23 September 2026 | 11:00 | Villa 31 × Art Explora
On transforming emotions into cinematic form and the importance of the feminist gaze in storytelling, especially when tackling historical characters and narratives: MOTHER.
Teona Strugar Mitevska started as a child actor, trained as a painter and a graphic designer and later studied at M.F.A program in film at the Tisch School of Arts, New York University. She made her debut as short film director in 2001 with Veta (Special Jury Prize at Berlin Film Festival 2002). How I Killed a Saint (Rotterdam Film Festival, Tiger Awards 2004) is her first feature made under the auspices of SISTERS AND BROTHER MITEVSKI. She has been making films ever since. God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya premiered in competition in Berlin Film Festival 2019 where it was awarded the Ecumenical Prize, as well at the German Guild Film Prize. Mother (2025) is her first English-language film, centered around the life of Mother Teresa.