ABSTRACT
North Macedonia will remember 2020 as one of the biggest successes in Macedonian film history. A safety protocol for filming during COVID-19 was prepared by the North Macedonia Film Agency and the Macedonian Film Workers’ Association, which recommended measures for the protection of all involved individuals on a film set. Only three domestic feature films were released in cinemas in 2020 and the admissions dropped by 85 percent compared with 2019. Film events were postponed or canceled, and many of them took place in a virtual format, using the latest communication technologies. Several older domestic films were released online due to the collaboration of the Cinemateque of North Macedonia and the only Macedonian video-on-demand platform Cinesquare.net, owned by Cutaway Production and Distribution based in Skopje. The wide range of creative industries and related expertise in Bitola and the wider region are represented by the photography, the gaming industry, audiovisual productions, graphic design, digital services, design and music.
