"Macedonian Wedding" - Film screening at the European Commission Liaison Office in Pristina

Ohrid quay. Photo: Alan Grant

"Macedonian Wedding "
(52 minutes, in English)

"A compelling documentary series about the Balkans and Turkey”
Olli Rehn, European Commissioner for Enlargement

"These are documentaries all of us citizens of the European Union should have the opportunity to see"
Giuliano Amato, former Italian Prime Minister

Return to Europe Series
Winner of the 2008 Erasmus EuroMedia Award

on Wednesday, 11 March 2009, at 17.30

The film focuses on Macedonia's northwestern Region, inhabited by the Albanian minority. In 2001 this was the site of a conflict between ethnic Macedonians and Albanians that flared up in armed clashes. Only thanks to determined intervention on the part of the international community could a civil war be averted. The framework agreement of Ohrid, which sealed the peace and set up guidelines for a peaceful coexistence of ethnic groups, became one of the most important success stories of European policy on the Balkans.

The documentary describes the background to the conflict and uses the stories of individual people to highlight the current situation of the country. Ali Ahmeti, the Albanian resistance leader ostracized by many as a terrorist, or Javier Solana, the EU's chief negotiator in Ohrid, have their say together with affected people from the ethnic groups, who give insights into their everyday lives.

"Macedonian Wedding" is a part of the TV project "Return to Europe", a series of 10 one-hour TV documentaries featuring countries and cities in the Balkans. The aim of the series is to acquaint viewers across Europe with the latest developments in South East Europe and the struggle of the people of the region for a better future in a united Europe.

The series is supported by ERSTE Stiftung and has been jointly produced by the German-language satellite channel 3sat, Austria's public broadcaster ORF and the TV production company pre-TV, in cooperation with the European Stability Initinative (ESI), upon whose research and analysis these films are based. The Istanbul film has recently been shown at international events in Brussels, Istanbul, Tbilisi, Berlin, and other cities across Europe and has received very positive feedback. It will be broadcast by a number of TV stations throughout the Balkans in coming months.