Willow (2019 film)

For the 1988 film, see Willow (1988 film).

Willow (Macedonian: Врба, romanized: Vrba) is a 2019 Macedonian drama film by Milcho Manchevski. It is about three women coping with issues of control over their bodies, tradition and adoption. The film premiered at the Rome Film Festival in 2019.^[1] А Macedonian-Belgian-Hungarian-Albanian coproduction, it screened at a number of international film festivals, winning several awards: Silver Palm at Mostra de Valencia, best director at Raindance, best film at Cinequest, Manuel De Oliveira Award at Fantasporto etc.

Willow
Macedonian	Врба
Directed by	Milcho Manchevski
Written by	Milcho Manchevski
Starring	Sara Klimoska, Natalija Teodosieva, Kamka Tocinovski, Nenad Nacev, Nikola Risteski, Petar Caranovic
Cinematography	Tamás Dobos
Edited by	Nicolas Gaster
Music by	Kiril Dzajkovski
Release date	19 October 2019 (2019-10-19)
Running time	101 minutes
Country	North Macedonia
Language	Macedonian

Plot

Three women – one medieval, two contemporary – struggle to become mothers. They have not set out to change the world or society, but their struggles with tradition, loyalty, adoption and control over their bodies make them unlikely heroines.

Cast

• Sara Klimoska as Donka
• Natalija Teodosieva as Rodna
• Kamka Tocinovski as Katerina
• Nikola Risteski as Milan
• Petar Caranovic as Kire
• Nenad Nacev as Branko
• Ratka Radmanovic as Grandma Srebra
• Petar Mircevski as Stavre
• Blagoj Chorevski as Mancho
• Laze Manaskovski as Father Avram

Awards

• Raindance — Best Director, 2020
• Fantasporto — Manuel De Oliveira Award, 2020^[2]
• Wellington Independent Film Festival — Best Feature Film, 2020^[3]
• Cinequest — Best Narrative Feature Film, 2020
• Mostra de Valencia — Silver Palm, 2020
• Stony Brook Film Festival — Jury Award Best Feature, 2021

See also

• List of submissions to the 93rd Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film
• List of Macedonian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film