Film
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The public prosecutor’s office charged 34 individuals and 3 companies, including the owner, former ministers, mayors, public officials, and inspectors. Thirty policemen are under investigation for crimes related to the illegal club.
Less than a month after the tragedy, acclaimed Macedonian filmmaker Milcho Manchevski (Golden Lion winner and Oscar nominee for Before the Rain) traveled to Kochani. More than 30 survivors of the fire and bereaved parents opened their hearts to him, sharing their personal stories.
The resulting documentary remains uncompromisingly ascetic and minimalist, its focus relentlessly trained on faces and lived experience. Unspooling with quiet deliberation—measured, spare — it lays bare moments of quiet devastation: so intimate, so unguarded, they seem to shimmer just beneath the surface, waiting to be felt more than seen. The director made a deliberate literary choice to rely solely on spoken words, allowing the visuals to unfold in the viewer's imagination. This creates an intimate and deeply emotional experience, highlighting the power of the word and inviting personal interpretation — much like the experience of reading a book.
Originally conceived to capture the human side of the disaster, the film instead becomes a testament to heroism, solidarity, resilience—and, improbably—hope within a tightly knit community fractured by unimaginable loss.
Director
Before the Rain, Dust, Shadows, Mothers, BIkini Moon, Willow, Kaymak
Milcho Manchevski
Writer
Before The Rain, Dust, Shadows, Mothers, Bikini Moon, Willow, Kaymak
Milcho Manchevski
Producer
Shadows, Mothers, Willow, Kaymak
Good People
| Good People | |
| Documentary Feature Films | |
| communual loss, fire, fire loss, disaster loss, grief, young people | |
| 85 minutes | |
| North Macedonia | |
| 2025 | |
| Macedonian | |
| English |
Synopsis:
Before March 16, 2025, the sleepy Macedonian town of Kochani was known for its pastoral rice fields. That changed when a devastating fire turned a popular but illegal nightclub into a burning grave. Sixty-three people — mostly young, some underage — died. Over 200 others were severely injured, with many enduring lasting emotional trauma. In less than an hour, nearly an entire generation in this town of 25,000 was lost, marking the darkest moment in North Macedonia’s recent history.The public prosecutor’s office charged 34 individuals and 3 companies, including the owner, former ministers, mayors, public officials, and inspectors. Thirty policemen are under investigation for crimes related to the illegal club.
Less than a month after the tragedy, acclaimed Macedonian filmmaker Milcho Manchevski (Golden Lion winner and Oscar nominee for Before the Rain) traveled to Kochani. More than 30 survivors of the fire and bereaved parents opened their hearts to him, sharing their personal stories.
The resulting documentary remains uncompromisingly ascetic and minimalist, its focus relentlessly trained on faces and lived experience. Unspooling with quiet deliberation—measured, spare — it lays bare moments of quiet devastation: so intimate, so unguarded, they seem to shimmer just beneath the surface, waiting to be felt more than seen. The director made a deliberate literary choice to rely solely on spoken words, allowing the visuals to unfold in the viewer's imagination. This creates an intimate and deeply emotional experience, highlighting the power of the word and inviting personal interpretation — much like the experience of reading a book.
Originally conceived to capture the human side of the disaster, the film instead becomes a testament to heroism, solidarity, resilience—and, improbably—hope within a tightly knit community fractured by unimaginable loss.
Credits:
Milcho ManchevskiDirector
Before the Rain, Dust, Shadows, Mothers, BIkini Moon, Willow, Kaymak
Milcho Manchevski
Writer
Before The Rain, Dust, Shadows, Mothers, Bikini Moon, Willow, Kaymak
Milcho Manchevski
Producer
Shadows, Mothers, Willow, Kaymak