TIRANA, Nov. 17 – “Daybreak” is an intimate drama that takes place in a flat, in Tirana’s urban setting, says Gentian Koà§i, an Albanian director, writer and producer about his debut feature, currently in its post-production stage.
Speaking in an interview with Cineuropa portal the young director says “Daybreak is about the moral compromises we all make somehow in our ceaseless struggle for economic security, or even survival.”
Starring Ornela Kapedani and Suzana Prifti, the Albanian-Greek co-production follows a single mother and her one-year-old son, who live in dire economic circumstances. They move in with an old, immobile woman whom they have to take care of.
“The pivot of the story is the very fragile relationship between the young and the old woman, a relationship swinging between empathy and pragmatic aims. One of the most important challenges for me as a writer and director was to keep a subtle balance between these two opposing aspects of their relationship: affection and pure pragmatic interests,” says Koà§i.
The project, developed with the financial support of the SEE Cinema Network, was also supported by the Albanian National Center of Cinematography (ANCC), the Greek Film Centre, Eurimages, the Albanian Ministry of Culture, the Albanian Public Radio-Television and the Municipality of Tirana.
Speaking about challenges young directors face in Albania due to lack of sufficient financial support, Koà§i says international co-productions are still vital in order for film productions to reach a successful conclusion.
“Anyway, it is still difficult for Albanian cinema to compete with high-budget films in the European or international markets. Even if there’s a solid marriage between festivals and the market, I still believe that some very good festivals select films based on their aesthetic quality, rather than on their budget, on the star-system criteria or on how much access a production company or a sales agent has to the market,” says Koà§i.
“My film has its own specific characteristics. It is a strong social drama, but a very implicit one in a way, with its own internal rhythm, and its flow springs from the inner world of my characters. I’m convinced that the film will capture the audience’s attention in a very smooth way, so I really hope that festival selectors will notice and appreciate the movie,” he adds.
“I firmly believe that besides meeting the requirements of the film market or festival policies, films coming from smaller countries have only one chance to break out: they have to be very good. The aesthetic quality is the only way to attract a good distributor – or that is what I personally think, at least,“ concludes the young artist.
