DJ Ahmet

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.

A charming and optimistic fable, DJ Ahmet somehow promotes Western social media as a powerful weapon for the emancipation of young people from the patriarchal customs that govern rural and religious communities. The arrival of the internet in the village gives them access to information, music… perhaps, even, to bus timetables that will take them to the big city. Writer-director Georgi M. Unkovski chooses the tone of comedy and his optimism is irresistible. Retrograde traditions, he tells us, cannot resist for long the uniformising pull of the Internet, which connects young people across borders.

DJ Ahmet won several major awards at the Sundance festival where it premiered: the Audience award, the World Cinema Dramatic competition and Special Jury Award for Creative Vision.

Cork International Film Festival is delighted to return to its Principal Venue, The Arc Cinema on North Main St, Cork, for its 70th Festival edition, Thursday 6th to Sunday 16th November 2025.

The Arc Cinema Cork is home to The GATE Screen — a space dedicated to preserving and celebrating the legacy of the beloved former Gate Cinema — and an ideal spot for meeting fellow festival goers in between screenings. The GATE Screen features luxurious double sofa seats and tables, creating an intimate and sophisticated viewing experience. It is dedicated to showcasing arthouse films, including independent and local productions, foreign and Irish language titles throughout the year.