Some 16 feature films, 25 short films and 20 documentaries have been shortlisted to compete in the festival
TIRANA, Oct. 31 – Feature films, short-films, documentaries, animated movies produced in the past five years are ready to compete in the Albanian Film Festival which returns after a six-year absence. The Albanian National Center of Cinematography says the festival will be held from November 3 to 9 at the Millennium cinema in Tirana bringing together filmmakers and actors from Albania Kosovo and Macedonia. Some 16 feature films, 25 short films and 20 documentaries have been shortlisted to compete in the festival. “The Despair of Mrs Schneider,’ “East-West East,” “Secrets,” “Alive.” “Balkan Bazaar,” “Out of Touch” and “Amnesty” are some of the feature films competing in the festival. Artan Minarolli, the director of the Cinematography Center, says workshops and master classes will also be offered during the festival. “The festival will be held in the Millennium Cinema and the whole pedestrian street at the National Art Gallery, the National Theatre and the National Theatre of Comedy,” says Minaroilli.
Italian actor Remo Geroni, known in Albania for his starring role in the “Octapus” TV series will be the only international star in this festival held on the centenary of Albania’s independence.
Veteran actor Robert Ndrenika will be the festival’s President. The ’13th Festival of Albanian Film in the 100th Independence Year’ is proud to honor Robert Ndrenika, whose stage and screen presence forever changed the face of Albanian culture, festival organizers say on their website.
Independence movie to open festival
The festival will open with the screening of the restored version of the Nentori i Dyte (Second November) movie. The 1982 movie featuring Albania’s independence under the leadership of Ismail Qemali was restored in the United States by the Colorlab Film Corp., working in collaboration with the Albanian Film Archive and the Albanian National Film Center on the hundredth anniversary of Albanian independence.
The new color 35mm print with a re-mastered soundtrack and English language subtitles will premiere at the Albanian Film Festival during the week of Nov 3-8, 2012. The film will later travel to the US with Albanian Film Archive representative Eriona Vyshka, as part of the first “Festival of the Archives,” to be held from Dec. 7-9, 2012 at the new SIFF Cinema in Seattle, WA, in cooperation with the annual meeting of the Association of Moving Image Archivists.
The 1982 Albanian feature film was written by the socialist realist author Dhimiter Shuteriqi (along with Kico Blushi) and directed by Viktor Gjika. Made three years before the death of the country’s dictator, Enver Hoxha, the film premiered in late November, less than a year after the mysterious demise of Mehmet Shehu, Hoxha’s heir apparent. During the production of the film Albania entered one of its darkest periods in its fifty years of Marxist rule. Numerous purges and arrests of government officials and their families became the order of the day.
