From the land that gave rise to geniuses like Emir Kusturica comes an almost fable-like, fun-filled, and affectionate story that prizes the oddities of youth, and scorns at living life in autopilot.
In DJ Ahmet, being screened in the World Cinema category at the 30th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), the 15-something Ahmet sets the tone for an infectiously joyous feature set on the Balkan grasslands of rural North Macedonia. Director Georgi M. Unkovski gives a clear entertainer that banks on the performances of its three leading young actors. In a coming-of-age film the characters are bound for an adventure of sorts. In the lead-up to this is where we encounter the gleeful bits of the film. Life too happens.
The fun, one finds, relies mostly on the eponymous Ahmet, played by Arif Jakup. He is picked up early from school by his father (Aksel Mehmet), only to go home to tend to the sheep, adhering to his old man’s command. Ahmet always goes on about his business with his baby brother Naim (Agush Agushev) in tow—an angelic duo that leaves one smiling.
Enter Aya (Dora Akan Zlatanova), the girl next door who is seemingly way out of Ahmet’s league. No, they are not bumping into each other casually. But how they grow less obscure and more inseparable is what the film beholds.
