One of the most well-decorated films at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was Hive, Blerta Basholli’s drama which picked up an Audience Award, Directing Award, and World Cinema Grand Jury Prize. Based on a true story, Kosovo’s Official Oscar entry for Best International Feature Film follows a woman in a patriarchal village whose husband went missing during the war in Kosovo. She bands together with local widows to sell local food, but when men in the village condemn Fahrije’s efforts to empower herself and the women around her, a feud begains. Ahead of a November theatrical release, the first trailer has landed.
Orla Smith said in her review, “Hive has a similar based-on-a-true-story inspirational narrative as many English-language crowdpleasers: through sheer force of will, a resilient woman triumphs against great personal and systemic obstacles. These sorts of films are cranked out by studios, particularly in the UK, all the time (just last year we had Misbehaviour), usually in glossy packaging and with a comedic bent. Hive, however, trades that gloss for a handheld camera and a washed-out colour palette. It removes the laughs, because this is post-war Kosovo, and life is tough and grey for beekeeper Fahrije (Yllka Gashi).”
See the trailer below.
Hive opens in theaters on November 5.