Four documentaries receive state support

TIRANA, May 12 – The Albanian National Centre for Cinematography has selected to financially support the production of four new documentaries for this year. The decision was made this week when a jury composed of four artists selected the documentaries among 11 submitted projects.
The selected documentaries include the “Father Zef Valentini and Albania”, “Democracy VS dictatorship, “Marko Bocari” and “Hasan Tahsini.”
Earlier this year, the Albanian National Center of Cinematography also approved financial support to two documentaries dedicated to Albania’s national hero Skanderbeg and the 1991 exodus of Albanians after the collapse of the 45-year communist regime.
Last year, the Albanian National Center of Cinematography (ANCC) became a member of European Film Promotion (EFP).
Founded in 1997, the ANCC supports the development, production and distribution of films which have a potential to achieve international recognition, thereby enhancing the cultural identity of the local film productions and improving the economic viability of its cinematography. Since 1997, around 167 different projects – 37 feature-length films, 20 short feature films, 63 documentaries, 39 animated films, and eight film festivals – have been backed by ANCC. The main mandate remains the development of new cinema of artistic value.
“The wealth of Albanian cinematography is, unfortunately, widely unknown so far to most of the world”, states Artan Minarolli, chairman of ANCC and EFP representative. “We believe that our EFP membership and the concentrated experience of the network will help us promote our talented directors, producers, actors and actresses on an international level, and also will widen the possibilities for European co-production and distribution of our films. At the same time, we also believe that we can make our own contribution to this European organisation.”
Recent important films coming from Albania include East, West, East: – The Final Sprint by Gjergj Xhuvani, Time of the Comet by Fatmir Ko詬 and Alive by Artan Minarolli, Amnesty by Bujar Alimani.