On August 28th at 7pm I attended the academic event, Global Engagement International Movie Night. This took place at the Gateway movie theatre where they showed “Honeyland”, a documentary taking place in rural Macedonia. This documentary focused on Hatidze, a bee-keeper and caretaker of her mother Nazife. Hatidze is a high spirited woman who deals with the struggles of taking care of her sick mother, conflicts with her neighbors, and providing for herself in near isolation. 

Hatidze takes on these challenges with strength. She walks a far distance to the city to sell her honey. Hatidze obtains the honey through sustainable means which become threatened and eventually destroyed by her neighbors when they harvest honey through destructive means. Unfortunately this conflict leads the neighbors to move away, taking away the positive parental relationship Hatidze shares with one of the children. Soon after this happens Hatidze’s mother dies. Hatidze experienced the loss of many relationships in a short period of time. This adds to her feeling of isolation that is made clear throughout the film. She is an extrovert, she loves telling stories and singing with the children as well as traveling to the market. Tragically, Hatidize’s siblings died and she never found a companion and had children. 

I enjoyed watching this film. It was beautifully shot and it showcased a lifestyle I previously had no knowledge of. “Honeyland” introduced me to the complex nuances of relationships for people in situations like Hatidze. Sustainability, balance, conflict, and isolation are major components of these relationships. Sustainability is a necessity if you are to provide for yourself using the land. You can tell this because Hatidze was sustainable and thrived as a result, her neighbors were not and faced many issues. Balance between taking and giving is also important. You need to only take half of the bees’ honey, you need to let people sample yours, you need to push family members to be better but not to hard, and you need to be kind yet stern with those around you. 

People who live in situations like Hatidze’s face the difficult choice between conflict and unhappiness or isolation and loneliness. This is showcased through the comparison of Hatidze and her neighbors lives. Hatidze was living a comfortable independent lifestyle but she was plagued by loneliness. Her neighbor was in an unhappy marriage to a high tempered man, with whom she had many children. Though you can tell they love each other, the children and their needs are a burden on her. This film made me question which is the better situation? Would I rather be unhappy and married or independent and lonely? 

I really enjoyed this movie and was happy to think more deeply about the concepts it introduced. I think it was well shot and a nice change from other movies I watch. The pace was slow, it was extremely intimate, and it addressed humanity’s fragile relationship with the nature that surrounds us. However, I do have some questions. How did they film this documentary? What was their relationship with Hatidze? Why did she allow them to film her? I think getting the answers to these questions would provide helpful context to the story.