Milcho Manchevski’s acclaimed Before the Rain (1994) is considered “one of the greatest debut feature films in the history of cinema” (Annette Insdorf) and “one of the most important films of the decade” (Ann Kibbey). The New York Times included it on its list “Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made.“ It won the Golden Lion in Venice, Independent Spirit, an Academy Award nomination, FIPRESCI, UNSECO, film of the year in Argentina, Sweden, Turkey, Italy and awards in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Poland, Puerto Rico, Russia, etc.
“Manchevski continues down his distinctive artistic path” (Hollywood Reporter) with the award-winning features Dust (which opened Venice 2001), Shadows (2007), Mothers (2010), Bikini Moon (2017), Willow (2019), Kaymak (2022), more than 50 short forms, including The End of Time (2017), Thursday (2013), Macedonia Timeless (2010), 1.73 (1984), Arrested Development’s Tennessee (1991) and an episode of HBO`s The Wire (2002). “His work stands out in world cinema for its unique way of playing with space, time and emotion” (Keith Brown).
Roger Ebert said, “Work like this keeps me going. A reminder of the nobility that film can attain.” “His unique blend of experimentation, poetry, emotion, and a demand for the active participation of the viewer in the construction of meaning are highly praised.“ (Conor McGrady).
Manchevski’s work is part of the curricula at numerous universities and is the subject of many essays and books. It is also part of the curricula at numerous universities, and has been discoursed at a number of conferences. The University of Leipzig (Germany) and the European University Institute in Florence (Italy) hosted academic conferences dedicated, respectively, to Before the Rain and Dust.
He had three solo exhibitions of photographs, published works of fiction, essays, books of photographs and staged performance art.
Manchevski served as Head of Directing Studies at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts’ Graduate Film program. He also taught at Feirstein Graduate School (Brooklyn College), EICTV (Cuba), VGIK (Russia), etc. Manchevski is a member of the Directors Guild of America, European Film Academy and the PEN Club, and holds an honorary doctorate from VGIK in Moscow.