Albanian director wins Italian film festival

TIRANA – Albanian director Gjergj Xhuvani has won the “Busto Arsizio Film Festival” in Italy with his latest “East, West, East” movie, an Albanian-Italian co-production released in 2009.
The movie was also awarded the prize of the best theme song written by Italy’s Enricco Ruggeri. Dozens of recently released movies were screened in the eight edition of the festival which closed on March 28.
“East, West, East – The Final Sprint” tells a story of Albania in 1990, just before the collapse of the 45-year communist regime. Director Xhuvani relates the dreams, heroics and a dose of healthy naivety of Albanian people in the years of transition from communism to democracy through the adventures of a group of amateur bicyclists who are called to France to represent Albania in a race. A former national champion is ordered by the authorities to assemble a cycling team to represent Albania in an international race in France, but the team only gets as far as Trieste when they discover via TV that full blown revolution has broken out and they must get back home while their country still exists.
The plot is a re-elaboration of various true stories, recollections and personal suggestions that the director and his co-screenwriters drew from their memories. “This is an ensemble story that brings together those of many Albanians after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Some tried to leave yet still many returned. Freedom cannot be found outside one’s country, but inside one’s self,” said Xhuvani earlier.
The professional, nearly all-Albanian cast features Ndricim Xhepa, a star at home, while Italian audiences will recognize Nela Lucic, the Bosnian-born actress who recently became an Italian citizen.