Durres ready to host third international film festival

TIRANA, August 17 – The coastal city of Durres is making its last preparations to host the third edition of its international summer film festival. The festival scheduled to be held from August 29 to September 4 will bring 26 feature films competing in two different venues at the local Aleksander Moisiu theatre and the ancient Roman amphitheatre.
“The festival will open with ‘La vie en rose’ a movie dedicated to French music icon Edith Piaf,” the event’s artistic director Anila Varfi told reporters this week unveiling part of the programme. The movie is screened in the “Close encounters” category, which in this edition is dedicated to France. It showcases the best films of the last three years with the aim to give to the audience gathered in Durres a deeper knowledge of the culture of the France and of the art trends of its filmmakers.
The festival will also bring on stage the “Blanche-Neige” ballet directed by Angjelin Preljocaj, an Albanian choreographer born in France.
Festival’s director Varfi said that no Albanian movies are competing in this year’s edition. However, a special section called “Short Albanian Film Student” will feature the best productions by students of the Albanian-speaking art academies of Tirana, Prishtina and Skopje.
The festival’s special guests will be French actress Fanny Ardant and Turkey’s T