Along with the Durres International Film Festival, TIFF is the biggest movie festival in Albania
TIRANA, Nov. 28 – “La Nave Dolce” (The Human Cargo), an Italian-Albanian documentary featuring the exodus of dozens of thousands of Albanians to Italy in the early 90s just as the 45-year communist regime was collapsing opened last weekend the tenth edition of the Tirana International Film Festival (TIFF), bringing together cinematographic productions from more than fifty countries around the world. Directed by Italy’s Daniele Vicari, the documentary recently received the “Francesco Pasinetti” Award by the Union of Film Industry journalists at the Venice Film Festival. The documentary was screened as part of the festival’s “Reflecting Albania” special programme dedicated to foreign productions on Albania. The official TIFF competition started on Nov. 24 with the screening of the “Vendetta,” a Czech production feature film directed by Miroslav Ondrus followed by “Paradise” by Greece’s Panagiotis Fafoutis. Late Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni was paid tribute with three of his movies.
November 28, 2012, exactly 100 years after Albania’s declaration of independence, was dedicated only to Albanian cinema. Some 25 Albanian documentaries and short films competed in this category. On Wednesday, Nov. 28 the Central State Film Archive paid homage to Albanian actor Kristaq Antoniu for his starring role in the Haiducci movie, a 1929 Romanian film directed by Horia Igirosanu. The festival also dedicated a special programme to regional cinema selecting Romania, whose films have won prizes in the Cannes Film festival twice. Increasing cinematographic co-production among regional countries and promoting tourism was also discussed in the Albanian Film Commission workshop. The festival will close on December 2 with the prize award ceremony and the special screening of the “ȠStato Il Figlio” by the Daniele Cipr쬠participant in the latest Venice film festival.
Along with the Durres International Film Festival, TIFF is the biggest movie festival in Albania. The first and only international cinema festival of its kind in Albania, TIFF was established in 2003 showcasing movies competing in four categories including feature films, short-films, the Digiart, TV short film competition, and the Albanian short-film competition.
All the daily programs of the TIFF festival combine features and short films of all formats and genres – fiction, documentary, animation and experimental. On its daily agenda, TIFF also dedicates time to classes and seminars with professionals in the motion picture industry geared for Albanian film students and emerging filmmakers.
Two juries composed of leading film writers, directors and critics will evaluate and then select the best features & shorts with awards presented on the closing night. Awards will be handed out for the best TIFF film, best Balkan film, best short film, best animated film and best documentary, best director, best actor and actress
“Above all, it is the aim of the Tirana International Film Festival to create a meeting point for film artists and cinema enthusiasts from Albania, the Balkans and the entire world to come together and share their linked passion and knowledge of the motion picture art form,” organizers say.
This tenth edition of TIFF brings several important changes to its previous years. For the fourth time, TIFF announces a feature film competition along with its prestigious shorts program. TIFF also extends its program to ten days, November 23 to December 2 in order to encompass not only the competing shorts and features but to allow for retrospectives, seminars, classes, press events and special presentations at theatres all over the Albanian capital.
Feature film Awards 2012 – Tiff 10th edition Nov. 27
On Nov. 27 an international jury announced Russia’s Siberia Monamour directed by Slava Ross as TIFF’s best feature film. The movie was appreciated for its capturing elegy, narrated in the best cinematic tradition of Russian style. The best director award went to Serbia’s Srdjan Dragojevic for his “The Parade” movie. Poland’s Waldemar Krzystek’s was awarded the best screenplay prize. The short category awards will be handed over during the festival’s closing ceremony on Dec. 2.
TIFF programme
Day VIII ǀ 30.11.2012 ǀ Imperial Cinema-Sheraton
11.00 Workshop: Albania Film Commission
12.30 Short Competition 3
Mossadegh / Roozbeh Dadvand / USA / Fiction / 23’38”
Kino / Natalia Warth / Brasil / Experimental / 13′
All of That / Branislav Milatovic / Montenegro / Fiction / 27’27”
27 / Nicolas Daenens / Belgium / Fiction / 12’26”
Lives / Santeri M嬩nen / Finland / Documentary / 18’27”
The Guard / Marta Popivoda / Serbia / Fiction / 26’21”
18.00 Special Program: Balkan Short films selected by AltCine. Curator Elektra Venaki, researcher and lecturer in many Academic Establishments in Athens and former film editor.
20.30 Short Competition 4
Miruna / Piotr Sulkowski / Poland / Fiction / 20’28”
The Wedding / Marina Seresesky / Spain / Fiction / 12’06”
How I Lost My Wings / Ivan Tasic / Serbia / Experimental / 22′
Voice Over / Martin Rosete / Spain / Fiction / 9’40”
Dog Leash/ Eti Tsicko / Israel / Fiction / 24’59”
The Bath / Jo䯠Vieira Torres / France / Experimental / 5’48”
Kolona / Ujkan Hysaj / Kosova / Fiction / 22’20”
22.00 Reception by Kosova Cinematography Center
Day IX ǀ 01.12.2012 ǀ Imperial Cinema-Sheraton
11.00 Workshop: LGBT’s Rights and Cinema
12.30 Short Competition 5
Vanuatu or the Happiness / Rafa Piqueras / Spain / Fiction / 19’06”
Oh Willy / Emma De Swaef & Marc James Roels / Belgium / Animation / 16’52”
Tennis / Vladimir Dembinski / Romania / Fiction / 15’42”
The Typographic City / Aitor Gametxo & Igone Arreitunandia / Spain / Documentary / 26’05”
Last Day of the Year / Ying-ting Tseng / Taiwan / Fiction / 29’32”
72 / Jorge Mochel Grau / Mexico / Fiction / 14’54’
17.00 Special Program: Romania New Wave
The death of Mr. Lazarescu by Cristi Piu / Romania / 2005 / Feature / 150′
20.30 Short Competition 6
Out of the Woods / Bledar Bujupi / UK / Fiction / 9’29”
A Story for the Modlins / Sergio Oksman / Spain / Documentary / 25’50”
Lyrebird Soup/ Naren Wilks / UK/ Experimental / 5’57”
Silent River / Anca Miruna Lăzărescu / Germany & Romania / Fiction / 30′
The Spring / Jerome Boulbes / France / Animation / 15’14”
There She Goes / Reg Noyes / UK / Fiction / 19’32”
Greengold / Pierluigi Ferrandini / Italy / Fiction / 18’43”
Day X ǀ 02.12.2012 ǀ Imperial Cinema-Sheraton
10.00 Short Competition 7
Rivers Return / Joe Vanhoutteghem / Belgium / Fiction / 11’40”
Blu / Nicolae Constantin Tanase / Romania / Fiction / 20’41”
All Inclusive / Beate Hecher & Markus Keim / Austria / Experimental / 8′
Ghost in the Machine / Oliver Krimpas / UK / Fiction / 18’31”
Deus Et Machina / Koldo Almandoz / Spain / Experimental / 8’30”
White Blood / Khayyam Abdullayev & Elmaddin Aliyev / Azerbaijan / Fiction / 13’46”
12.00 Short Competition 8
That Wasn’t Me / Esteban Crespo / Spain / Fiction / 24’31”
Kidnapped / Sarah Winkenstette / Germany / Fiction / 20’22”
Connection / Maciej Twardowski / Poland / Experimental / 4’19”
Prologue / Lucas Figueroa / Spain / Fiction / 10′
Start the Engine and Reverse / Andrey Zagidullin / Russia / Fiction / 4′
The Man in the Habit of Hitting me on The Head With An Umbrella / Vardan Tozija / Macedonia / Fiction / 15’32”
18.00 Closing Ceremony
Short Category Award
19.00 Screening the Best Short TIFF 2012
20.30 Special Screening ǀ Millennium Cinema
ȠStato Il Figlio (It was the Son) by Daniele Cipr젯 Italy / 2012 / Feature / 90′
