No. 18 (2022) HIVE Feb. 28th.

Film No. 18 (2022)  February 28th.  10.30 PM   Cinema 6.  LUNA,  Leederville. 

"We've been making ajvar all our lives. We know how to do it better than anyone"(Fahrije makes a statement she hopes will convince others that she has an idea for making money that is worth pursuing).

Like QUO VADIS, ADA?  HIVE tells the story of an ordinary woman who displays extraordinary courage and resilience in the face of extreme adversity, during the former Yugoslavia War of the 90's. With one major difference. Fahrije Hoti is a real person who, to this day, continues to work for her family and the women of her village, in the enterprise she created.

This concise, succinct film deserves all the praise heaped upon it (the most awarded film at Sundance 2021). Kosovo born director Blerta Basholli has created, in her first feature, a story that will inspire people (mainly women) to create their own path, even if circumstances and people press hard against their endeavours. It's likely a western audience may be disbelieving of the sorts of behaviours shown towards Fahrije (Yllka Gashi), in 1999. Basholli places the behaviour of people of Fahrije's village on notice. Let the rest of the world sit in judgement (via her film) of such diabolical behaviour.

We meet Fahrije at home trying to cope with the loss of her husband, one of 3000 men who went missing in a massacre during the Kosovo war of 1999. Coping is at the cornerstone of Fahrije's existence. To cope she needs to know where her husband is. She needs to create an income for her family. She needs to care for her invalid father in law, (Cun Lajci). Her life is difficult, but for 85 minutes we learn that her real hardship, the repression of the community, a community she had hoped she could rely on, forces her to fight even harder; thus becoming a saint of optimism. 

And HIVE; the significance of the title? Doing the job of her missing husband, Fahrije now gathers the honey from the home-made hives, just like the antagonists of her village, some bees get inside her suit and sting and mark her. Those actions only make her stronger. The rest of the bees are like the women she convinces to work with her. They produce "honey" (ajvar). The universal message displayed in HIVE should be seen by so many more people than have seen it so far.  11GUMS.