The Manaki Brothers. The Chroniclers of the “Third” Europe

Abstrakt

At the time of the birth of cinema at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, one more area was created on the cultural map of Europe, next to the West and the East. In the heart of this “third” Europe, under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, worked famous photographers of Wallachian origin, Janaki and Milton Manaki, their film work made them famous in the early 20th century as pioneers of “Balkan cinema”. Most of the films that have survived to this day were made in the Ottoman period. They are a testimony of everyday life as well as important events that influenced the course of the history of the region. The study of the life and work of the Manaki brothers seems to be dominated by the least important aspect, that is, the question of their origin and nationality. Their films are included in many national cinema discourses in the Balkans, from North Macedonia, through Greece, Romania, to Albania and Turkey. This article, representing a synthesis of brighter research, is, on the one hand, an attempt to organize (objective) knowledge about the lives and works of the Manaki brothers, and on the other hand, an in-depth introduction to their film work.