Starring Arif Jakup and Dora Akan Zlatanova, DJ Ahmet has plenty of beats, but its true harmony lies in its quiet heart.
DJ Ahmet doesn’t just drop the bass—it drops you straight into the rural heart of North Macedonia, where the rhythms of tradition clash with the beats of a restless soul. Directed by Georgi M. Unkovski, the film tells the story of Ahmet, a 15-year-old shepherd with dreams bigger than his family’s flock. Played with understated charm by Arif Jakup in his feature debut, Ahmet’s life is a monotonous loop of herding sheep and harvesting tobacco, with his only escape found in the pulsing synths of electronic music. It’s a tale as old as time: boy meets beats, beats meet resistance, and life turns into a remix of rebellion.
Ahmet’s father, played by Selpin Kerim, is as set in his ways as a record stuck on a scratched groove. Following the death of Ahmet’s mother, he pulls his son out of school, tethering him to the farm and to the suffocating rhythms of rural life. But Ahmet’s heart beats to a different tempo, one filled with secret forest raves and dreams of spinning tracks with the girl-next-barn.
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/inbetweendrafts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/DJ_Ahmet-Still2.jpeg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/inbetweendrafts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/DJ_Ahmet-Still2.jpeg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1″ src=”https://i0.wp.com/inbetweendrafts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/DJ_Ahmet-Still2.jpeg?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1″ alt=”Dora Akan Zlatanova appears in DJ Ahmet by Georgi M. Unkovski, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.” class=”wp-image-26796″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/inbetweendrafts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/DJ_Ahmet-Still2.jpeg?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/inbetweendrafts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/DJ_Ahmet-Still2.jpeg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/inbetweendrafts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/DJ_Ahmet-Still2.jpeg?resize=768%2C432&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/inbetweendrafts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/DJ_Ahmet-Still2.jpeg?resize=1536%2C864&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/inbetweendrafts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/DJ_Ahmet-Still2.jpeg?resize=2048%2C1152&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/inbetweendrafts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/DJ_Ahmet-Still2.jpeg?resize=1200%2C675&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/inbetweendrafts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/DJ_Ahmet-Still2.jpeg?w=2160&ssl=1 2160w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”>
Said girl is Aya (Dora Akan Zlatanova), whose rebellious streak and killer musical taste immediately catches Ahmet’s eyes and ears. Staring down the barrel of an arranged marriage, Aya’s own secret passion is hip-hop dance, which she practices in secret with a defiance that could light up a disco ball. When Ahmet stumbles upon her makeshift rehearsals, a collaboration blossoms: he supplies the beats (via a tractor-powered sound system, no less), and she supplies the moves. Together, they prepare for a folk festival performance that promises to shake more than just cultural expectations.
Unkovski handles the material with a deft touch, avoiding the temptation to crank the volume on melodrama. Instead, the film hums with a quiet, lofi authenticity that lets the story breathe. The Macedonian countryside is rendered with painterly beauty, its rolling hills and golden fields providing a stark contrast to the pulsating energy of Ahmet’s musical aspirations. The sound design is equally evocative, blending ambient rural noises with the hypnotic thrum of EDM. It’s as if the film itself is a mixtape, seamlessly layering the old and the new into something both familiar and fresh.
The performances are as unvarnished as a stripped-down acoustic set. Jakup plays Ahmet with a reserved intensity, letting his silences speak louder than words, while Zlatanova’s Aya bursts onto the screen like a firecracker in a midnight rave. Their chemistry’s organic and electric, a slow burn rather than a quick drop, and their shared defiance against societal norms gives the film its emotional core. And Kerim, Ahmet’s father, turns in a layered performance, embodying the weight of tradition without slipping into caricature.
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/inbetweendrafts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/DJ_Ahmet-Still3.jpeg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/inbetweendrafts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/DJ_Ahmet-Still3.jpeg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1″ src=”https://i0.wp.com/inbetweendrafts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/DJ_Ahmet-Still3.jpeg?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1″ alt=”Arif Jakup, Agush Agushev and Dora Akan Zlatanova appear in DJ Ahmet by Georgi M. Unkovski, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.” class=”wp-image-26799″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/inbetweendrafts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/DJ_Ahmet-Still3.jpeg?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/inbetweendrafts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/DJ_Ahmet-Still3.jpeg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/inbetweendrafts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/DJ_Ahmet-Still3.jpeg?resize=768%2C432&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/inbetweendrafts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/DJ_Ahmet-Still3.jpeg?resize=1536%2C864&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/inbetweendrafts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/DJ_Ahmet-Still3.jpeg?resize=2048%2C1152&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/inbetweendrafts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/DJ_Ahmet-Still3.jpeg?resize=1200%2C675&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/inbetweendrafts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/DJ_Ahmet-Still3.jpeg?w=2160&ssl=1 2160w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”>
What sets DJ Ahmet apart from other underdog passion projects is its refusal to overplay its premise. This isn’t Billy Elliot with turntables, nor does it try to wring cheap sentimentality from its protagonist’s struggles. Instead, it captures the universality of self-expression—the way art, in any form, can be both a sanctuary and a rule-breaking experiment. The film feels more like a playlist passed between friends than a polished studio album: intimate, raw, and brimming with heart.
One issue is that the story doesn’t stray too far from the well-trodden path of coming-of-age narratives. But that familiarity is arguably part of its charm. DJ Ahmet takes a tune you’ve heard before and spins it into something all its own. By the time the big finale arrives—an event as laden with tension as a DJ booth with a stuck crossfader—you’re fully invested in Ahmet and Aya’s quest to break free, even if only for a moment.
Ultimately, DJ Ahmet leaves you with a catchy beat and lingers like the echo of a song you can’t stop tapping your feet to. It’s a film about finding your voice, even in a place where the world seems determined to silence you. Unkovski has crafted a quiet triumph, a reminder that sometimes, the most profound revolutions start with the heart. Here’s to an encore.
DJ Ahmet had its world premiere at the Sundance 2025 Film Festival. Find more of our Sundance 2025 coverage here.
REVIEW RATING
- DJ Ahmet – 7.5/10
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