‘Honeymoon’ for Serbia and Albania with first joint film

Albania and Serbia, still burdened by tensions over breakaway Kosovo, might finally enjoy a “honeymoon” period נat least on the big screen with their first-ever co-production of a film, by the same name.
Directed by Serbian filmmaker Goran Paskaljevic and produced by Albanian screenwriter Genc Permeti, “Honeymoon” paints a parallel between two young couples, one Albanian and one Serbian, planning to emigrate to the European Union.
Their destinies mix and their dreams fall short when they encounter a Europe in which “Serbs and Albanians are treated as second-class citizens,” Paskaljevic told AFP.
“They are not guilty of anything. They only want to integrate into Europe”, said the 61-year-old director, who left for France during the 1990s hardline rule of late president Slobodan Milosevic to protest the nationalistic policies that fuelled the Balkan wars.
Paskaljevic, who co-wrote the script with Permeti, insists he is not driving home any political point with the movie, which began filming in mid-October, eight months after Tirana backed the move by ethnic Albanian-majority Kosovo to split with Serbia. More than 50 countries, including most EU states and the United States, have backed Kosovo’s independence proclamation.
“When I decided to make ‘Honeymoon’ and to come to Albania, the nationalists in Serbia described me as a traitor.
“There were other accusations coming from certain Albanians, both in Albania and Kosovo,” said Paskaljevic, a graduate of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague whose 13 feature length and two short films have all been shown at New York’s Museum of Modern Art.
Both Paskaljevic and Permeti see this first Albanian-Serbian film as an opportunity to put focus on the states as neighbours, and not on their political tension
“To reveal what their two peoples have in common is much better than to fight wars,” Permeti told AFP.
The stories of the two couples “show that, despite certain specifics on a political level, the Serbs and the Albanians have so much in common,” he said, and “that is necessary to get rid of all our tiny ‘nationalistic quirks’.”
Paskaljevic said the script was partially inspired by the “Grand Illusion” by the late French director Jean Renoir, a 1937 classic hailed as a peace message to a Europe sliding into a new World War.
“Maybe I am too romantic, but I do believe strongly both in Europe and the possibility of a ‘honeymoon’ between us,” said Paskaljevic.
“The simple fact that we are making this film together is already a strong message for politicians: we want to live and work together,” said Paskaljevic, long an advocate of bilateral cooperation.
Twice a member of an international jury at the Tirana Film Festival, Paskaljevic said “it seems that artists understand each other better than politicians.”
“There is no ancient hatred between our countries. It was invented by the ultra-nationalists on both sides, and this stopped us from meeting, knowing each other and exchanging experiences,” he said.
Filming will take place in both countries. The first scenes were shot in the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina before the crew decamped to the capital Belgrade. During November, it moves to Albania to film in the northern mountainous region of Koman and the capital Tirana.
The cast includes Serbia’s Lazar Ristovski, Petar Bozovic, Mira Banjac and Nebojsa Milovanovic, as well as Albanians Bujar Lako and Yllka Mujo, and Italian star Giancarlo Giannini.
Budgeted at around 1.5 million euros (2.3 million dollars), the film is a jointly financed by Albanian, German, Italian, Serbian and Swiss firms. It is expected to finish work by the end of the year.