Respected movie screen devotees,

"Film is Beautiful" is the motto of this year's "Manaki Brothers" festival. In the Macedonian tradition, beautiful is synonymous with good, because beauty contains aesthetic and moral dimension. Therefore, in Macedonia, the film that is beautiful is also good.

The good film successfully recreates everything we live and experience daily. The dilemmas we face, the ambitions that enslave us, the sacrifices we do, the dreams we follow, the lessons we learn...

But, there is another thing in the film. In the era of the Internet and selfie, when we focus more on ourselves, the good film gives us the opportunity to notice other people around us, to look at their lives, to become familiar with their stories. And that is especially important today, when more and more people are rootless and homeless. Some of the films we will have the chance to see deal with people for whom traveling is not just a metaphor of life, but a way of life.

The film achieves it through different narratives from around the world which authentically reflect the truth, while the film artists help us recognize, understand and accept them as our own.

The Republic of Macedonia is fortunate that for already 36 years the International Cinematographers' Film Festival "Manaki Brothers" enriches our lives with the life stories of the movie screen.

The "Manaki Brothers" festival is intimate according to its size, but ambitious in its objectives. Maybe it is relatively small compared to some European and world festivals, but sends a great message - that the Macedonian public has high criteria and that Macedonia is a country appreciated by the good, beautiful film.

With this thought, at the very end, I declare the "Manaki Brothers" festival open!