'Golden Five', signed by Macedonian director Goran Trenchovski, scooped the best feature film award at the SEE Festival in Paris. The film also won the best editing award for the excellent job of Andrija Zafranovic and Aristid Filaktov.
The movie about five students opened the festival and seduced the French audience. The international jury declared the Golden Five for best movie in a competition of 15 films. The 'Golden Five' is based on true events. Elderly academic Alavantie returns to his homeland, from which he fled during the oppressive regime of Tito after the execution of his childhood friends: student activists resisting the communist Yugoslav government and campaigning for an independent Macedonia. In 1951, the five friends were reunited with Alavantie, and their other childhood friend Gigi, in their home town just days before their arrest and execution. More than 50 years later Alavantie and Gigi, the only surviving members of the group, are again reunited. In the intervening years Alavantie has relentlessly investigated their deaths and has uncovered the truth about what really happened to the 'Golden Five'.
While the film is very much a tale of the past, like all good stories about history, it informs about the present, warns of the consequences of zealous nationalism and the intolerance of the criticism of governance, but also provides a message of hope for those willing to accept the lessons of the past. Reviews across the globe refer to the 'Golden Five' as a profound and moving film.
SEE a Paris is a dedicated attempt of all the twelve South-East European countries to create a special contribution to the cultural unification of Europe. The festival program includes feature films, documentaries, animated and short films from all 12 SEE countries, namely Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey.