Focus Features has set a Jan. 26, 2024 theatrical release date for Goran Stolevski’s latest, Housekeeping For Beginners.
It premiered in Venice as part of the official “Orizzonti” (Horizons) competitive section, securing the prestigious Queer Lion Award. See Deadline review. It was selected shortly after as North Macedonia’s international Oscar submission.
The film explores the universal truths of family, encompassing both the bonds we inherit and those we create. The narrative revolves around Dita, who, despite never aspiring to be a mother, finds herself compelled to raise her girlfriend’s two daughters—Mia, a tiny troublemaker, and Vanesa, a rebellious teenager. As their individual wills clash, a heartwarming story unfolds about an unlikely family’s struggle to stay together.
Stars Anamaria Marinca, Alina Serban, Samson Selim, Vladimir Tintor, Mia Mustafa, Dzada Selim, Sara Klimoska, Rozafë Çelaj, and Ajse Useini.
This is Focus Features’ third collaboration with Stolevski, a rising original voice, and follows his first two features You Won’t Be Alone and Of An Age.
Produced by List Production, Madants, Kinorama, Sense Production, and Industria Film, in collaboration with Film I Väst, CommonGround Pictures, and Causeway Films, and in association with Tango, New Europe Film Sales, and the Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund. The production received essential support from the North Macedonian Film Agency, Croatian Audiovisual Center, Film Center Serbia, Polish Film Institute, and Kosovo Cinematography Center.
The team of producers includes Marija Dimitrova, Klaudia Śmieja-Rostworowska, Ankica Jurić Tilić, Beata Rzeźniczek, Milan Stojanović, and Blerta Basholli. Focus is distributing the film in the U.S. with Universal Pictures International handling international distribution (excluding Eastern Europe).