One of the more unlikely films competing in this weekend’s Oscars is a fascinating story about a wild beekeeper in the Balkans. Honeyland has a strong ecological message, but it’s the life story of the woman at the centre of the film that has struck a chord around the world, reads a BBC article dedicated to the Macedonian documentary, nominated for an Oscar in two categories.

Honeyland is the first film to compete for both the best documentary award and best international feature film. The documentary’s success is even more remarkable because it started almost accidentally. Macedonian directors Tamara Kotevska and Ljubo Stefanov were researching in a remote mountainous area of the country for a short nature documentary. They noticed beehives behind a rock on the mountain where they were filming. This led them to Hatidze Muratova, one of Europe’s last wild beekeepers, who uses ancient methods passed down through the generations for harvesting wild honey, BBC writes.

More at: BBC