Manchevski's 'Sister Brother Manhole Cover' Premieres at Tokyo After Years of Dispute

Tokyo International Film Festival competition entries typically arrive without public controversy, but this year’s lineup includes a title that emerged from a multi-year fight over funding and censorship.

Milcho Manchevski’s 'Sister Brother Manhole Cover' has been selected for the main competition at the Tokyo International Film Festival. The film follows a sister and brother who steal bronze busts of national heroes and manhole covers in post-Communist Macedonia to sell for scrap metal.

Manchevski, who won the Golden Lion for his 1994 debut 'Before the Rain,' said the project was stalled for years after he accused his country’s film agency of corruption. He reported the alleged corruption in 2020 and 2022, stating that he faced political harassment, a media smear campaign, and criminal proceedings. The film was finally approved in 2023.

The director said he won two court cases against the agency. He noted that the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption and the State Audit Office confirmed his account of the events. Organizations including the Venice Film Festival, Whistleblowing International, and Transparency International lent their support during the dispute.

"I would not reduce the situation of all Macedonian filmmakers to my own experience," Manchevski said. "But when a filmmaker can be prevented from working for political reasons, that points to a dysfunctional society."

The narrative focuses on Malina and Viktor, siblings who survive on the fringes of society. After a theft goes wrong and Viktor is injured, Malina makes a deal with a crooked doctor. The pair eventually take shelter with the doctor’s wealthy, blind mother, Todora. Manchevski described the relationship as a fierce and complicated love that is rarely the center of films.

He said the characters are far from ideal but deserve understanding. "Poverty is not picturesque. It is painful and dehumanizing," he said. "We should be careful not to romanticize it, or to pretend that people can simply overcome it through courage and good intentions. The circumstances that shape these lives are real, and they are political."

Manchevski said the film’s symbols, including the stolen busts and manhole covers, represent the values a society claims to honor while abandoning its people. He noted that the covers keep a lid on the ugliness of society until someone pries them loose. He added that the film is not confined to North Macedonia. "It is not only a third world problem. We are all the third world today," he said. "In that sense, wealth inequality is the new global warming."

The feature is a co-production involving North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Albania, Italy, and the U.K. Jane Kortoshev produced the film with Banana Film as the lead production company. Coccinelle Film handles world sales. The cast includes Sara Klimoska, Filip Trajkovikj, Sonja Mihajlova, Dejan Lilich, and Petar Mirchevski.

Manchevski shot the feature alongside 'Good People,' a documentary about the Kočani nightclub fire. His next project, 'Homecoming,' is described as a story about regret and forgiveness. He said he is elated to have reduced that project to its emotional and narrative essence.