FILN REVIEWS:
DJ AHMET (North Macedonia, Czech Republic/Serbia, Croatia 2025) ***
Directed by Georgi M. Unkovski
DJ AHMET (North Macedonia, Czech Republic/Serbia, Croatia 2025) ***
Directed by Georgi M. Unkovski
Ahmet, a 15-year-old boy from a remote Yuruk village in North Macedonia, finds refuge in music while navigating his father’s expectations, a conservative community, and his first experience with love — a girl already promised to someone else.
In the classic Taviani Brothers 1977 film PADRE, PADRONE, there is the unforgettable scene in which the father removes his son Gavino from the classroom to force him to work as a shepherd. The act is driven by the father’s authoritarian control and belief that education is useless for their rural, traditional life in Sardinia.
In the film DJ AHMET, the protagonist faces the same dilemma; even though the father does not physically remove his son from the classroom, there is a message to Ahmet that his father is there to fetch him. His father later tells him that he has spoken to the headmaster to stop his schooling,
In the same way as in PADRE PADRONE, where the father needs Gavino’s labour and wants to assert dominance, cutting him off from schooling so he will grow up obedient and bound to the land. Ahmet is also to tend sheep as well as to look after his younger brother, who is unable to speak. This moment is crucial in the film because it marks the beginning of Ahmet’s isolation, illiteracy, and psychological oppression, which the story later contrasts with his struggle for independence in the area of music.
All things considered, the film is a coming-of-age drama that centres on Ahmet, a 15-year-old boy living in a remote Yörük/Turkic village in rural North Macedonia. Caught between his family duties, conservative community expectations, and personal dreams, Ahmet finds refuge and identity in music, particularly electronic beats, which offer him an escape from the strict, tradition-bound world he’s grown up in. At its core, the story explores youthful rebellion, cultural tradition vs modernity, and first love. Ahmet dreams of being a DJ while tending sheep and helping his family, and his passion for music deepens when he falls for Aya, a girl who shares his love of rhythm but is already promised to someone else. Their connection and Ahmet’s pursuit of music become a symbol of self-expression and liberation amidst societal pressures
The comedy in the film is sincere and honest in form, as seen when Ahemt tastes his girl’s baklava for the first time, and they both giggle; she tells him that he does not know how to lie.
In DJ AHMET, director Unkovski explores the delicate balance between tradition and self-expression, particularly within a small, close-knit community. The tension that ariseswhen individual desires clash with the expectations of the collective. is captured. There is also a nod to Mike Nichols’ THE GRADUATE in the way Ahmet hicks Aya’s arranged wedding. Though the two films are highly different, the scene of the bus pulling away reminds the film of the ending of THE GRADUATE. But there are twists in the plot regarding the father’s change of heart, which makes a nice conclusion to the film.
Trailer:
