Macedonia and the Holocaust

Online, February 24, 2011 (Newswire.com) - The next presentation of the new International Series: How Macedonia Coped with the Holocaust features Marija Makeska, Film Producer, Soul Mates Sunday, March 27, 2011, 2:30 p.m. free at the Holocaust Documentation and Education Center
2031 Harrison Street ∙ Hollywood, FL 33020

When the Nazis invaded Macedonia (then Yugoslavia), a substantial Jewish population was virtually wiped out. Marija Makeska joins the Holocaust Documentation and Education Center from Detroit to tell the story of Macedonia during WWII and to present a personal story with her documentary film, Soul Mates, featuring her grandmother, a nonâ€Jewish witness.

Born in Skopje, Macedonia, Ms. Makeska immigrated to the United States in 2003. She graduated from Wayne State University in 2010, majoring in Theatre and Film Production. The Soul Mates project started with a grant from Wayne State University and was Ms. Makeska's first experience working with international filmmakers. It
is based on a family story about WWII told by her grandmother and was fully shot in Macedonia. This is the first official film ever made about Macedonian Jews.

Soul Mates won Best Documentary award at the Made in Michigan Film Festival in 2010, was nominated for Best Academic Film at the Michigan Film Awards, and has been screened in several other countries, including Macedonia, Serbia, and Canada. Other films by Ms. Makeska include: Get to Know Us (2009), My Dog Rania (2009), It's a Small World (2009), Slippery People (2010), and Marison (2011).