The well known Italian Film Producer and one of the typical representatives of present-day cinematography Gianni Amelio was in Shkodra to introduce and view “The Sorrow of Mrs. Schneider” at the Millennium Cinema.
Prior to the film screening, Amelio spoke about his impressions of Albania, which is presented in his famous film which has sparked off a great deal of polemics, often quite intense, entitled, “L’America.”
He said, “It is exactly fourteen years since I was last in Albania. Now I have the strangest impression, but entirely positive of course. For 14 years I have tried to imagine how Albania may have changed in comparison to what it was fourteen years ago. How had it changed in 14 years; but I could never have imagined the reality. I have discovered a totally different Albania, a far more beautiful Albania that gifted me emotions that urge me to come back again and perhaps even next week. Once, while shooting a film on location here in Albania I established my initial contact with this country. In fact I named the film, “L’America”, but this film was shot during a period that was very significant for this country. I made that film in 1993-1994 when the situation in your country was really dramatic. At that time, I produced this film to tell the rest of the world at large, where all the people who were arriving on the shores of Italy were coming from. They were searching for their “America” in Italy, just like we Italians did when there was an Italian exodus towards America. I have also become acquainted with the classics of Albanian cinematography and I would love to write the history of Albanian cinematography which does not yet exist.
Whilst in Shkodra, Amelio was accompanied by the Albanian film producer Pirro Milkani.
