'Housekeeping For Beginners' Goran Stolevski's Family Drama, Macedonia’s Oscar Entry Sets US Release

Samson Selim stars as Ali, Vladimir Tintor as Toni, Anamaria Marinca as Dita, and Sara Klimoska as Elena in director Goran Stolevski’s Housekeeping for Beginners. (courtesy Focus Features)

Housekeeping for Beginners official trailer and release date — Samson Selim stars as Ali, Vladimir Tintor as Toni, Anamaria Marinca as Dita, and Sara Klimoska as Elena in director Goran Stolevski’s Housekeeping for Beginners. (courtesy Focus Features)

Focus Features revealed the official trailer for Housekeeping For Beginners, the family drama film selected as North Macedonia’s Official Selection for Best International Feature at the 96th Academy Awards.

Starring in the film are Anamaria Marinca, Alina Șerban, Samson Selim, Vladimir Tintor, Mia Mustafa, Džada Selim, Sara Klimoska, Rozafë Çelaj, and Ajse Useini.

Release Date

Written and directed by Goran Stolevski, Housekeeping For Beginners premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival where it won the Queer Lion, and will open in select theaters with a release date of Friday, January 26th, 2024.

Synopsis

From acclaimed filmmaker Goran Stolevski comes a story exploring the universal truths of family, both the ones we’re born into and the ones we find for ourselves. Dita never wanted to be a mother, but circumstances force her to raise her girlfriend’s two daughters, tiny troublemaker Mia and rebellious teen Vanesa. A battle of wills ensues as the three continue to butt heads and become an unlikely family that must fight to stay together.

Reviews

Describing director Goran Stolevski as a ‘filmmaker of impressive originality, skill and style‘ in their review, Deadline wrote, “But for all the crises they face – death, disappearance, rape – this is not a film driven by plot. It is all about the tangle of people portrayed by an ensemble so natural in its togetherness that they seem to be living the story for real. The company is led by Marinca, giving a forcefully present performance as the stalwart Dita, but everyone holds his or her own, even little Mia. Music fills any gaps. When the kids aren’t roaring along with some tinny hit, the score by Alen and Nenad Sinkauz picks up on the racial conflict always seeping into the story’s edges: Violins and accordions play the compelling rhythms, its mix of merriment and melancholy underscoring the household’s endless arguments.”