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DJ Ahmet

Book Tickets

No upcoming sessions

Synopsis

Charming, funny and uplifting, this Sundance Audience Award-winner tells the story of a 15-year-old North Macedonian boy who finds refuge in dance music and in first love.

Ahmet and his brother Naim are growing up in a family scarred by grief in a remote village, conservative as it is superstitious. The boys’ stern father has no qualms forcing Ahmet to work on the family sheep farm rather than let him go to school, whilst he takes his little brother Naim, silent since his mother’s death, to a suspect healer. Into this grim reality enters the beautiful Aya, who has returned from Germany in order to enter an arranged marriage. When Ahmet discovers a secret rave he is immediately transfixed by the music, and by Aya, and sees a path to a more joyous and free life.

Turkish and Macedonian with English subtitles

Screening at Luna Leederville from May 7.

FESTIVALS & AWARDS

2025 Sundance Film Festival | Winner: Audience Award & World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award
2025 São Paulo International Film Festival | Winner: Special Jury Prize
2025 Sarajevo Film Festival | Winner: Cineuropa Award, Special Youth Perspectives Award, Audience Award Feature Film
2025 Sydney, Perth and Melbourne International Film Festivals | Official Selection

Opening Date

Thursday, May 7, 2026

Rating

Length

99m

Genre

New Release

Reviews

The sort of film that urges one to tell everyone about it so that they too can bask in its wondrous pleasures, DJ Ahmet is a revelation in that it seamlessly straddles the line between laugh-out-loud crowd-pleaser and art-house gem with affecting gravitas.

Variety

Picture Footloose happening right now in a tiny village in Northern Macedonia, and you’ll get the vibe behind writer-director Georgi M. Unkovski’s touching feature debut, DJ Ahmet.

The Hollywood Reporter

Filmmaker Georgi M. Unkovski employs music in various forms in his feature debut, approaching its clash between youthful rebellion and traditional culture with a non-judgmental warmth and an open heart”

Screen International