The documentary “Good People” by Macedonian director Milcho Manchevski is having its world premiere in the Documentary Film Competition at the Sarajevo Film Festival. The film is dedicated to the survivors of the fire at the Pulse nightclub in Kočani, North Macedonia, which claimed the lives of dozens of young people and injured hundreds in March 2025.
Speaking to Variety ahead of the premiere, Manchevski said he wanted to make a film that would give the survivors a voice. He said their experiences and thoughts needed to be recorded and shaped into an honest narrative for future generations, and that filming began just one month after the tragedy.
Manchevski decided to direct the documentary because he felt there had been a great deal of information in the media, but very little of it reflected the experiences, emotions and thoughts of the people directly affected by the fire.
“Very quickly, the tragedy was hijacked for political goals,” he told Variety, referring to the political turmoil that followed the fire and allegations that the nightclub had been able to operate because of corruption and bribery.
Manchevski chose to make “Good People” extremely austere, rigorous and minimalist in an effort to avoid manipulating the audience. All interviews were filmed against a black background, with the survivors dressed in dark clothing, and no archival footage of the fire was used.
The filmmaker said the aim was to confront viewers directly with the survivors’ faces and words, with as little mediation as possible. “Our job was to stay out of the way,” Manchevski said, emphasizing the importance of restraint in making the film.
The director also said he had to work on the project in secrecy because, according to him, he had been blacklisted by the Film Agency of North Macedonia. He said he financed the project himself and that all proceeds from the film would go to the survivors in Kočani
