We live our lives inscrutably included within the streaming mutual life of the universe. 1 Martin Buber Honeyland (Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov, 2019), a flm about a woman of Turkish descent named Hatidže Muratova who lives with her ailing mother Nazife in a rural area of North Macedonia and makes her living harvesting honey using an ancient and sustainable form of apiculture, was a surprise hit on the flm festival circuit and a signifcant fnancial success. Despite its in- tensely local focus, the flm’s enthusiastic reception in North Amer- ica, Europe, and beyond suggests that its depiction of Hatidže’s life spoke to many and disparate audiences living far away and in quite different circumstances. But why? How did a flm about an obscure beekeeper end up so widely seen, let alone nominated for two Academy Awards? Cer- tainly, some of its success has to do with how documentary flms circulate in the contemporary festival marketplace. Ilona Hongis- to’s chapter in this volume illustrates, among other things, the ways in which funding models, festival regulations, premiere locations, and distribution strategies contributed to Honeyland’s success. Yet, good marketing and buzz can only take a flm so far. Something in the flm itsel f must speak to audiences enough that this buzz turns into genuine popularity. Thus, while Hongisto’s analysis deftly demonstrates how the flm became so successful, an analysis of the industrial practices around the flm cannot fully explain why it suc- ceeded beyond expectations. It is worth noting that Honeyland is a particularly diffcult flm to classify. Hongisto discovered that, when the flm’s producer inquired about including the flm in the prestigious Berlinale flm festival, he Introduction The I and Thou of Honeyland Jaimie Baron DOI: 10.4324/9781003124573-1