TIRANA, July 21 – Six Albanian documentaries and short films have been selected to participate in this year’s Dokufest, Kosovo’s biggest international film festival held in the historic town of Prizren, which in this 15th edition will showcase more than 200 films from 57 countries.
Corruption and its local and global social context and consequences will be the central theme of this year’s festival which traditionally takes place in the historic town of Prizren, just 18 km from the Albania-Kosovo border.
Organizers say corruption will be highlighted and explored through a number of events, including panels, discussions with filmmakers and invited international and local experts, workshops and tech conferences. A hand-picked film program focusing on the issue of corruption as well as two other phenomena that go hand in hand with it, power and lies, has been specially curated to coincide with the theme.
Veton Nurkollari, the festival’s artistic director, says this year’s special edition on the festival’s 15th anniversary taking place from August 5 to 13 will bring quality works by emerging and established directors.
“DokuFest is celebrating its 15th birthday with yet another eclectic selection of films. We hope they will amaze, move and surprise you as much as they did us,” says Nurkollari.
“We are delighted to be able to present works of such high quality, both from emerging filmmakers and masters of the craft in this anniversary edition,” he adds.
Competitions are at the heart of the program and this year’s selection sees a number of outstanding work of non-fiction cinema, as well as a great array of short fiction and experimental cinema, heading to the charming city of Prizren and its celebrated open-air cinemas.
A study has shown that apart from reinvigorating cultural life in Kosovo, the festival which usually lasts for ten days also has a huge economic impact on the town of Prizren and its local businesses considering thousands of local and foreign visitors packing the town. The festival is estimated to trigger spending of about €4 million by visitors in accommodation, meals and shopping.
Selected Albanian documentaries and short films:
Drande
Albania, 2015, 17 min
Category: National
Directors: Blerta Berisha, Felix Hergert
Living with her mother on the outskirts of a small city in northern Albania, Drande takes care of the property she owns. Two cottonwood trees have to be chopped down. Drande is a sworn virgin who has chosen the life of a man. By portraying Drande’s choice to lead an independent life, the film depicts the vanishing phenomenon of Burrnesha (Sworn virgins) in northern Albania and the consequences this lifestyle entails.
I am not just a…
Albania, 2016, 6 min
Category: Future is Here
Director: Sonja Azizaj
Exploring how it is to live in a mind of a woman through a short documentary film. Aleksandra is an example of a modern woman, who lives in an urban Albanian society of 21st century by wearing and reflecting her entire complexity. A short walk through the female universe and what is revealed under the word woman as an object.
Mimi
Albania, 2016, 15 min
Category: National
Director: Eneos à‡arka
A short documentary about my grandfather, the life of an elderly man in Tirana, Albania.
My Grandmother
Albania, 2015, 30 min
Category: National
Director: Jurgen Agushi
The life of Valentina Buci, a 77-year-old Russian woman. She recounts her life in Albania under communism to her grandson.
Selita
Category: Balkan Dox
Directors: Elton Baxhaku, Eriona à‡ami
Albania, 2016, 71 min
Selita dramatically chronicles the efforts of activists and Roma residents who try to halt highway construction threatening to destroy their neighborhood in Tirana, Albania. Shot over two and a half years, this documentary captures the often-heated confrontations between vulnerable citizens and powerful government forces. Selita is a powerful reminder of the enormous personal cost and shady political compromises taking place in Albania, a country still in the midst of transition and social struggle.
The Awaiting
Category: Balkan Dox
Director: Roland Sejko
Albania, 2015, 60 min
On September 21, 2014 Pope Francis chose Albania for his ï¬rst European visit to “a country that has long suffered the ideologies of the past.” His voyage from Rome to Tirana took 50 years. The Awaiting makes use of historical footage juxtaposed to present day shooting, to tell a unique page of history of one of the only atheist country in the world through the narration of two protagonists: a Franciscan priest (who spent most of his life in prison) and a Cathedral (that became a sports palace).
