Efterklang: The Makedonium Band

Andreas Johnsen / Denmark & North Macedonia / 2024 / World Premiere / 81 min

20 years into their musical life,  Efterklang have an idea: They want to go to North Macedonia and spend a week putting together a band of local musicians to perform in front of the architecturally insane Makedonium monument that celebrates the country’s freedom and independence. That’s all the three musicians have planned when they land in the capital Skopje and start handing out flyers to recruit members for their new band. Led by their hyper-energetic friend and guide, Grga, they are dragged out of the capital, into the countryside, up into the mountains and all the way to the political top in their search for allies and the country’s distinctive folk music culture. With his keen eye for drama and detail, director Andreas Johnsen (‘Ai Weiwei: The Fake Case’, ‘Kidd Life’, ‘Bugs’ and more) has created a delightful tour of the Balkan country’s musical culture and a dive into the alternative creative process of one of Denmark’s most adventurous bands, where you won’t be looked down upon if you suddenly, in the middle of a rehearsal, pull out your homemade bagpipes made from the stomach of a goat.