Housekeeping for Beginners | Dir: Goran Stolevski | ★ ★ ★ ★

Macedonian-born Australian filmmaker Goran Stolevski returns to his homeland to capture the chaos of a modern found family that live in the house belonging to social worker Dita (Anamaria Marinca), that she shares with her Roma girlfriend Suada (Alina Serban). 

When the film opens to the younger members of the family singing to a Macedonian rock song, the camera is bouncing around the living room with the main singer – bleach-blond 19 year-old Roma Ali (Samson Selim) – who has just spent the night with Dita’s long-time friend and housemate, the middle-aged Toni (Vladimir Tintor).

Adding to the chaos are Suada’s two children from her previous relationship – the precociously entertaining and lively six year-old Mia (Dzada Selim) and sullen teen Vanessa (Mia Mustafa). Then there are a couple of stray teenage girls from the neighbourhood who have sought refuge.

Housekeeping isn’t high on the list of priorities, but the house is a safe-haven for everyone who lives there, all who would otherwise be considered as outsiders whether for social, cultural or economic reasons … and sometimes for all three of those reasons.

When Suada finds out that she has a terminal illness, Dita reluctantly promises to keep the family together. In order to do this, she has to convince an even more reluctant Toni to register as the girls’ legal father and act as her straight partner. This is the same Toni who has asked his Grindr date Ali to stay with him in the house.

As the chaos of their home life continues, the adults do what has to be done to keep the found family together. Of course, all this would not be necessary if North Macedonia had legal recognition of same-sex relationships – and ironically, Housekeeping for Beginners was North Macedonia’s submission for the ‘Best International Feature Film’ at the 2024 Academy Awards.

Lezly Herbert