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'{{about||the Italian sport drama film|The Third Half (2013 film)|the Soviet drama film|The Third Half (1962 film)}} {{Infobox film | name = The Third Half | image = The Third Half.jpg | caption = | director = [[Darko Mitrevski]] | producer = Robert Naskov, Darko Mitrevski, [[Nuala Quinn-Barton]] | screenplay = Grgur Strujic and Darko Mitrevski | story = | based_on = World War 2 events | starring = [[Sasko Kocev]]<br>[[Katarina Ivanovska]]<br>[[Richard Sammel]]<br>[[Rade Šerbedžija]]<br>[[Emil Ruben]]<br>[[Mitko S. Apostolovski]] | music = [[Kiril Džajkovski]] | cinematography = Klaus Fuxjager | editing = Dejan Boskovic | studio = Kino Oko Production | distributor = | released = {{Film date|df=yes|2012|5|21|[[2012 Cannes Film Festival|Cannes]]|2012|9|15|[["Manaki Brothers" Film Festival]]}} | runtime = 113 minutes | country = North Macedonia | language = {{Plainlist| *[[Macedonian language|Macedonian]] *[[German language|German]] *[[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] *[[Serbian language|Serbian]] *[[Judaeo-Spanish|Ladino]] *[[English language|English]] }} | budget = € 2.500.000 | gross = }} '''''The Third Half''''' ({{lang-mk|Трето полувреме}} {{IPA-mk|ˈtrɛtɔ pɔˈɫuvrɛmɛ|}}) is a 2012 Macedonian film directed by [[Darko Mitrevski]]. It deals with Macedonian football during [[World War II]] and the deportation of [[History of the Jews in North Macedonia|Jews from Macedonia]]. It is a story of love during wartime and a country's passion for football. The government of Macedonia considered the film of national interest and funded it with one million euros.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.novamakedonija.com.mk/NewsDetal.asp?vest=31612916468&id=16&prilog=0&setIzdanie=22532|title=Селектор на Кан ќе ги гледа "Балканот..." и "Трето полувреме"|trans-title=A Cannes Representative Will Watch The Balkans... and The Third Half|work=[[Nova Makedonija]]|date=16 March 2012|accessdate=23 May 2014|language=mk|archive-date=29 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029095142/http://www.novamakedonija.com.mk/NewsDetal.asp?vest=31612916468&id=16&prilog=0&setIzdanie=22532|url-status=live}}</ref> ''The Third Half'' was selected as the Macedonian entry for [[Academy Award for Best International Feature Film|Best Foreign Language]] at the [[85th Academy Awards]]. ==Plot== The film is set in what is today [[North Macedonia]], then part of the [[Vardar Banovina]], a province in [[Kingdom Yugoslavia]], and follows the period shortly after the [[Tripartite Pact]] invasion of the region.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2012/film/awards/macedonia-sends-third-half-to-oscars-1118059184/|title=Macedonia sends 'Third Half' to Oscars|date=13 September 2012|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|first=Nick|last=Holdsworth|accessdate=26 April 2020|archive-date=2 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802065640/https://variety.com/2012/film/awards/macedonia-sends-third-half-to-oscars-1118059184/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1941, a young football player from Macedonia, Kosta, and a wealthy young Jewish woman, Rebecca, fall in love, despite her father's effort to keep them apart. With the war raging around their borders, the Macedonians remain cocooned in their world of patriotic pleasures, primarily concerned about getting the beleaguered Macedonia Football Club on a winning streak. Their manager hires the legendary German-Jewish coach Rudolph Spitz to turn them into champions. However when the Nazi occupation begins and they start deporting Jews, Kosta and his teammates realize that the carefree days of their youth are over. As the Nazis try to sabotage the outcome of the championship game, and Spitz's life is threatened, Kosta and his teammates rise to the challenge to protect their coach, with all of Macedonia cheering them on. ==Background== ''The Third Half'' depicts the history of 7,148 [[History of the Jews in the Republic of Macedonia|Macedonian Jews]] who were deported to the [[gas chambers of Treblinka]] by the Bulgarian administrative and military authorities, who were cooperating with the Nazi regime. In February 1943, Bulgaria and Germany signed an agreement stipulating the deportation of Bulgarian Jews to camps in Poland. In March 1943, Bulgarian police rounded up the Jews of Thrace and Macedonia at night and placed them in detention camps under extremely harsh conditions. Their property and their houses were confiscated prior to their deportation in late March. Sealed trains transported 11,384 Jews, mainly via the Danube River, to death camps, from which almost none returned.<ref>{{Harvnb|Laqueur|Tydor Baumel|2001|page=102}}</ref> The film was inspired by the true story of the [[FC Macedonia]] football team. The film is based also on an interview with the [[USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education|Shoah Foundation]] on that story given in 1998 by Neta Cohen, a Macedonian [[Holocaust survivor]].<ref name="rferl">{{Cite web |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/mitrevski-third-half-controversial-macedonian-holocaust-film/24805049.html |title=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Director Of Controversial Holocaust Film Rejects 'Revisionist' Criticism, 12 December 2012. |access-date=27 May 2023 |archive-date=27 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230527210939/https://www.rferl.org/a/mitrevski-third-half-controversial-macedonian-holocaust-film/24805049.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Jewish coach of [[FC Macedonia]] [[Illés Spitz]] who is also a Macedonian [[Holocaust survivor]] was rescued by the Bulgarian club's managers.<ref>Spas Tashev, The deportation of the Jews from Vardar Macedonia and Aegean region: facts and myths. Macedonian Scientic Institute, Sofia, 2012, p. 58.</ref> ==Cast== *[[Sasko Kocev]] as Kosta *[[Katarina Ivanovska]] as Rebecca Cohen **[[Bedija Begovska]] as Rebecca in 2012 *[[Richard Sammel]] as Rudolph Spitz, a Prussian footballer-turned-coach hired to coach FC Macedonia *[[Rade Šerbedžija]] as Don Rafael Cohen, a wealthy Jewish banker and Rebecca's father *[[Emil Ruben]] as Garvanov, a Bulgarian colonel *[[Mitko S. Apostolovski]] as Dimitrija, the owner of FC Macedonia *[[Toni Mihajlovski]] as Pancho *[[Igor Angelov]] as Afrika *[[Gorast Cvetkovski]] as Skeptic *[[Oliver Mitkovski]] as Jordan *[[Igor Stojchevski]] as Cezar *[[Dimitrija Doksevski]] as Gengys *[[Bajram Severdzan]] as Choro *[[Whitney Montgomery]] as Rachel, Rebecca's granddaughter *[[Zvezda Angelovska]] as Blagunja, Pancho's wife *[[Verica Nedeska]] as Zamila, Rebecca's friend *[[Petre Arsovski]] as Papas, Dimitrija's friend *[[Meto Jovanovski (actor)|Meto Jovanovski]] as a rabbi *[[Salaetin Bilal]] as a shoemaker *[[Petar Mircevski]] as a barber ==Production== The film was supported by the Macedonian Film Fund, the Holocaust Fund of the Jews from Macedonia, The Jewish Community of Macedonia, the Czech State Fund and the then Macedonian Prime Minister [[Nikola Gruevski]]. It was declared a film of national interest by the Macedonian Government. The film was shot in [[Skopje]], [[Bitola]] and [[Ohrid]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.novamakedonija.com.mk/NewsDetal.asp?vest=91211119322&id=16&setIzdanie=22378 |title=Location of filming (MKD) |access-date=2011-11-15 |archive-date=2012-04-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405104932/http://www.novamakedonija.com.mk/NewsDetal.asp?vest=91211119322&id=16&setIzdanie=22378 |url-status=live }}</ref> Filming took place between September 10<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sitel.com.mk/dnevnik/makedonija/snimanjeto-na-%E2%80%9Etreto-poluvreme%E2%80%9C-pochnuva-na-10-septemvri |title=Filming started on the new film TTH - ''Sitel'' (MKD) |access-date=2011-11-15 |archive-date=2012-01-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121022658/http://sitel.com.mk/dnevnik/makedonija/snimanjeto-na-%E2%80%9Etreto-poluvreme%E2%80%9C-pochnuva-na-10-septemvri |url-status=live }}</ref> and October 27, 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.utrinski.com.mk/default.asp?ItemID=F5BA490B389C1D4885B63453E1AA94EA |title=The filming of Darko Mitrevski' film is finished - ''Utrinski Vesnik'' (MKD) |access-date=2011-11-15 |archive-date=2011-10-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111029212123/http://www.utrinski.com.mk/default.asp?ItemID=F5BA490B389C1D4885B63453E1AA94EA |url-status=live }}</ref> ==Reception== Writing for Cineuropa, Vladan Petković stated that ''The Third Half'' was the most ambitious Macedonian film since ''[[Before the Rain (1994 film)|Before the Rain]]'' (1994). He went on to praise the setting, lauding the director for managing to "put together all the complicated details of the period and the geopolitical situation". Petković highlighted Sammel's acting as the strongest and dubbed it "the real emotional anchor of the film".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/226784/|title=Football, love and war in The Third Half|first=Vladan|last=Petković|date=10 February 2012|publisher=Cineuropa|accessdate=26 April 2020}}</ref> At [[Bitola]]'s 33rd [[Manaki Brothers Film Festival|Manaki Brothers film festival]], it received a standing ovation.<ref>{{cite web |author=Maja Nedelkovska |title=Tears and Standing Ovations for “The Third Half” |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2012/09/17/the-third-half-receives-tears-and-standing-ovation/ |website=Balkan Insight (BIRN) |access-date=27 May 2023 |date=17 September 2012 |archive-date=17 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517222330/https://balkaninsight.com/2012/09/17/the-third-half-receives-tears-and-standing-ovation/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The film was selected as the Macedonian entry for the [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Oscar]] at the [[85th Academy Awards]], but it did not make the final cut for nomination.<ref name="Oscars">{{cite web|url=http://www.utrinski.com.mk/default.asp?ItemID=A97A56769715274FACD93B68E3B65875|title="Трето полувреме" македонски кандидат за Оскар|accessdate=2012-09-13|work=Утрински весник|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130103082424/http://www.utrinski.com.mk/default.asp?ItemID=A97A56769715274FACD93B68E3B65875|archivedate=2013-01-03}}</ref> ==Controversy== {{See also|Macedonian historiography|Fascism in Bulgaria}} [[Evgeni Kirilov]], [[Andrey Kovatchev]] and [[Stanimir Ilchev]]—[[Bulgaria]]n [[Member of the European Parliament|members]] of the [[European Parliament]]—expressed outrage over the film and called upon [[European Commissioner for Enlargement]] [[Štefan Füle]] to reprove the [[Republic of Macedonia]] over the film. They claimed the film was an "attempt to manipulate Balkan history" and "spread hate" on the part of the Republic of Macedonia against its neighbors.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/enlargement/news/macedonian-film-infuriates-bulgaria/ |title=Euractiv, Macedonian film infuriates Bulgaria, 29 October 2011. |access-date=27 May 2023 |archive-date=7 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307051326/https://www.euractiv.com/section/enlargement/news/macedonian-film-infuriates-bulgaria/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The director of the film denied the accusations; he described the objections to the film as an example of [[Holocaust denial]].<ref name="rferl" /> In late November 2011, the Macedonian media alleged that [[Member of the European Parliament]] [[Doris Pack]], of Germany, dismissed the Bulgarian politicians' criticism of the film.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://vecer.com.mk/?ItemID=9F53174541964C43A1FC594EEE4FC0D6 |title=''И Дорис Пак даде гол за македонското "Трето полувреме"'' |access-date=2012-07-21 |archive-date=2012-02-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120201125103/http://vecer.com.mk/?ItemID=9F53174541964C43A1FC594EEE4FC0D6 |url-status=live }}</ref> Subsequently, in an extraordinary meeting of the EU Committee on Foreign Affairs attended by the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Macedonia, Doris Pack denied this allegation.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140512221059/http://www.europarl.europa.eu/ep-live/EN/committees/video?event=20111129-1400-COMMITTEE-AFET&vodtype=Vod Committee on Foreign Affairs, Extraordinary meeting - Exchange of views with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 29 November 2011.]</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140512221059/http://www.europarl.europa.eu/ep-live/EN/committees/video?event=20111129-1400-COMMITTEE-AFET&vodtype=Vod European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs ]</ref> In a 2021 documentary called The Last Half, the Bulgarian director Stepan Polyakov has argued that the screenplay of the film The Third Half differs significantly from the real events Mitrevski claims to reflect, and it even openly manipulates them.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Поляков |first1=Степан |title=Филмът "Последно полувреме" – разказ за фалшификацията на историята и сложните отношения с РСМ |url=https://bnt.bg/news/filmat-posledno-poluvreme-razkaz-za-falshifikaciyata-na-istoriyata-i-slozhnite-otnosheniya-s-rsm-v301145-297037news.html |website=Bulgarin National Television |publisher=Денят започва |access-date=5 January 2022 |archive-date=5 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105185748/https://bnt.bg/news/filmat-posledno-poluvreme-razkaz-za-falshifikaciyata-na-istoriyata-i-slozhnite-otnosheniya-s-rsm-v301145-297037news.html |url-status=live }}</ref> ==See also== * [[The Holocaust in Bulgaria]] * [[List of submissions to the 85th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film]] * [[List of Macedonian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film]] ==Notes== {{reflist|30em}} ==References== {{refbegin|indent=yes}} * {{citation|title=The Holocaust Encyclopedia|first1=Walter|last1=Laqueur|first2=Judith|last2=Tydor Baumel|isbn=0300084323|publisher=[[Yale University Press]]; New Haven and London|year=2001}} {{refend}} == External links == * {{Official website|http://www.thethirdhalf-movie.com/}} * {{IMDb title|2069100}} * [http://www.darko.net.mk/thirdHalftime.htm Darko Mitrevski website] * [http://www.euronews.net/2011/11/11/macedonian-film-sparks-anger-in-bulgaria/ Euronews on The Third Half] * [http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10006804 The Holocaust in Macedonia (source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)] * [http://www1.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft%20Word%20-%206633.pdf The deportation of the Macedonian Jews to Treblinka (source: Yad Vashem)] * Empty Boxcars (2011) Documentary *[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2153626/] at IMDb [http://vimeo.com/25341520] link Vimeo {{Portal bar|North Macedonia||World War II||Judaism}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Third Half, The}} [[Category:2012 films]] [[Category:Macedonian-language films]] [[Category:2010s Bulgarian-language films]] [[Category:2010s German-language films]] [[Category:English-language Macedonian films]] [[Category:Judaeo-Spanish-language films]] [[Category:Films about Jews and Judaism]] [[Category:Films based on biographies]] [[Category:Association football films]] [[Category:Holocaust films]] [[Category:Films set in North Macedonia]] [[Category:2010s sports films]] [[Category:2012 multilingual films]] [[Category:Macedonian multilingual films]]'