Albanian film festival kicks off in New York

TIRANA, Oct. 2 – The Hero, a Kosovo movie directed by Luan Kryeziu opened the third edition of the Albanian Film Festival in New York scheduled for October 2 to 9. Feature films, short films, documentaries from Albanian directors based in Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, the United States, will screen for one week at the festival which this year comes under the slogan “Where Albanian Cinema Meets New York”.
“Our Albanian heritage and culture make us proud. Our mission is to help artists tell the story of Albanian struggles and greatness. For the third consecutive year the Albanian Artists Association, a non-profit organization is bringing to New York City quality cinematic works that, through stories of happiness, pain, success and endurance, show the spirit of our people to audiences in North America and around the world,” organizers say.
Film debriefs, discussions, and debates surrounding Albanian film and culture, and the affects of the war and Communism on Albanian artistic expression will be some of the highlights of October 5.
The film finale and awards ceremony will feature audience awards and jury prizes recognizing best short, best feature, and best documentary.
The Albanian Artists Association was born in 2012. That year, the first Albanian Film Festival (AFF) ran 100 films, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Albanian independence.
Each year, the AFF commemorates this artistic liberation and today’s flourishing Albanian culture by exploring the expression of visionaries through film.