Kosovo’s Hive short-listed at Oscars
Story Highlights
- Hive is a drama based on the true story of Fahrije who lost her husband during the Kosovo war.
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TIRANA, Dec. 23 - Kosovo’s Hive, directed by Blerta Basholli, has been shortlisted in the best foreign film category at the Oscars, the only movie from eastern Europe to reach this state.
The 15-movie list is part of the process for nominations for the Academy Awards which will be announced on Feb. 8, 2022.
Hive is a drama based on the true story of Fahrije who lost her husband during the Kosovo war. In order to provide for her struggling family, she pulls together the other widows in her community to launch a business selling a local food product, Ajvar. Finding healing and solace in considering a future without their husbands, but their will to begin living independently is met with hostility. The men in the village condemn Fahrije’s efforts to empower herself and the women around her, starting a feud that threatens their newfound sovereignty.
“HIVE in the Oscars shortlist. Forever grateful to have met a wonderful woman like Fahrije Hoti who inspires and encourages me every time I see her, even today! Thank you for sharing your story with me and the world! Grateful for the amazing team behind Hive,” Director Basholli wrote on Twitter.
Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said the movie made the entire country proud.
“‘Hive’, Blerta Basholli’s film, which tells the story of the heroine Fahrije Hoti and the women of Krusha, under the excellent interpretation of Yllka Gashi and the fantastic caste of our actors, is officially on the short list for the most prestigious Oscars in the category of foreign films. Bravo! With you, to the peaks,” Osmani wrote on Facebook.
The film has already received many local and international awards. It won the top three awards in the U.S. Sundance Film Festival -- “Best Film”, “Best Director” and “Audience Award”.
A graduate of the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, Hive is Basholli’s’s feature debut.
Hive is a film co-production between Kosovo, Switzerland, Albania and Northern Macedonia, supported by the Kosovo Cinema Center, the Swiss Federal Office for Culture FOC and Cinéforom, the Film Agency of Northern Macedonia and the National Center for Cinematography of Albania.
