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DJ Ahmet

DJ Ahmet

Movie · 2025 · 6 people

Drama, comedy and music meet in DJ Ahmet (Didžej Ahmet in Macedonian), a 2025 tragicomedy and coming-of-age story written and directed by Georgi M. Unkovski. Unkovski shares the producer credit with Ivana Shekutkoska. Made jointly by North Macedonia, Czechia and Serbia, the film is in Turkish and runs 99 minutes. It drew attention for its Sundance prize and reached Turkish cinemas on 28 November 2025.

The story is set in a remote Yörük village in rural North Macedonia. At its centre is 15-year-old Ahmet (Arif Jakup), who lives simply with his father, his younger brother and their sheep. After losing his mother, the running of the household falls to him; he tries to look after his family while also chasing his greatest passion, music. As he dreams of becoming a DJ, his feelings for Aya (Dora Akan Zlatanova) take shape. The film sets adolescent restlessness amid hard living conditions, responsibility and suppressed emotion, in a village shaped by Islamic tradition. Agush Agushev, Aksel Mehmet, Selpin Kerim and Attila Klinçe complete the cast.

The film had its world premiere on 23 January 2025 in the World Cinema Competition of the Sundance Film Festival and won that section's Audience Award. Its French title is Le Garçon qui faisait danser les collines.

DirectorGeorgi M. Unkovski

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Attila Klinçe Attila Klinçe Actor · 68 years old Arif Jakup Aksel Mehmet Agush Agushev Dora Akan Zlatanova Selpin Kerim

Through different eyes

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

The pull between a provincial life and a big dream is one of the most worn templates of the coming-of-age story: a kid growing up in a narrow world looks to music for a way out. Whether DJ Ahmet transcends that template depends largely on its handling of tone. Holding tragicomedy, drama, comedy and music in one structure is a tricky balance, and setting heavy material such as a mother's death and the weight of running a household next to humour can dilute both if it is not built carefully. Unkovski writing and directing means the film comes from a single sensibility, and that consistency is an asset. The Sundance Audience Award points to its warmth, but audience prizes sometimes reward charm over daring, so I would calibrate expectations accordingly.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

What stands out most is that the film centres on a Turkish-speaking life outside Türkiye, in a Yörük village in rural North Macedonia. That a North Macedonian, Czech and Serbian co-production should have Turkish as its original language is a reminder that Turkish-speaking communities in the Balkans remain a living cultural presence. The story's real tension is sociological: a teenager dreaming of becoming a DJ in a sheep-farming village shaped by strong Islamic tradition makes visible the distance between generations, and between rural life and global youth culture. For viewers in Türkiye it is a chance to look at a world that resembles the Anatolian countryside yet is distinctly its own.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

The hero is 15, which makes it a good candidate for watching with teenagers. He has lost his mother and carries the household on his shoulders, so the subject is heavy at times. Younger children may find it slow and sad. But there is comedy and music in it too. The balance between chasing a dream and standing by your family is worth talking over with teens once the credits roll.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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