MakeDox Creative Documentary Film Festival

MakeDox Creative Documentary Film Festival is Skopje’s dedicated documentary cinema event, running each August across eight days. The festival has competitive sections for feature-length documentaries, short documentaries, and student films, and has built a reputation for presenting work from across the Balkans alongside international productions that might not reach the region through standard distribution.

Programme and structure

The competitive programme is divided into categories by length and production context. Feature documentaries compete for the main jury prize, while separate sections for short films and student work give emerging filmmakers a platform within the same event. In addition to the competitive screenings, MakeDox hosts panel discussions, filmmaker Q&As, and masterclasses, which make it a working industry event as much as a public film programme.

A travelling cinema component brings documentary screenings to villages across North Macedonia — an extension of the festival’s reach beyond the capital and a distinctive element that few comparable events include.

Practical information

Screenings take place at cinema venues in Skopje. The festival uses both indoor and occasional open-air screening spaces, with the late August dates making outdoor events viable. Festival accreditation is available for industry participants; general public screenings are typically ticketed at low prices or free for specific events.

Skopje is served by international flights at Skopje Alexander the Great Airport, and by bus connections from Belgrade, Sofia, Tirana, Pristina, and other Balkan capitals. The city is compact and the festival venues are reachable on foot or by short taxi ride from central accommodation.

Tips for film festival visitors

MakeDox is a working festival rather than a celebrity-driven glamour event — the emphasis is on the films and the documentary form. Audiences tend to be engaged and the Q&A sessions after screenings are a genuine part of the programme. August in Skopje is hot (temperatures regularly reach 35C in peak summer), so indoor screenings provide welcome relief during the day.

Check the festival’s website for the published programme schedule and any advance ticket requirements for specific screenings. The festival’s travelling cinema events, if running to accessible locations near Skopje, are worth considering as a distinctive way to experience documentary film outside the city context.

For more on visiting Skopje and North Macedonia, see our destinations section.