The second edition of the International Film Festival of Durr쳠closed on the 30th of August 2009. The Golden Gladiator, the highest award of the Durr쳠Film Festival went to La Pivellina by Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimel. International participation in the festival came from neighbouring countries and competed in the Balkan Film Selection. Other authors from more distant provenance competed in the Contemporary Visions Selection. Contemporary Visions and the Balkan World were the main themes underlying the Festival. The Albanian film Alive! competed in the Balkan World Selection. No particular selection was created for Albanian films.
Participating films were produced in the last three years and should show as premieres. Nine films competed in each of the selections, making a total of 18 films in competition. Other films in the competition were also shown to the public among which were some of the world’s most reputed. The Festival was opened with Slumdog Millionaire (out of competition) and was closed with Il Divo (out of competition). The Best Balkan Film was attributed to Three Monkeys by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, while the Special Jury Award went to Alive! by Artan Minarolli. The premiere of this film which was long expected in Albania, but which had not yet been shown, attracted large numbers of cinema-goers.
A few days prior to the award ceremony, the Italian press published an interview with Anila Varfi, director of the Festival (Osservatorio Balcani, 27.08.2009). She explained that the festival required a “colossal work”, that there is actually no cinema hall in Durr쳠and that the theatre of the city had been transformed into a cinema. The old amphitheatre of the city was also turned into a makeshift cinema. This made the spectre of the Golden Gladiator figure, highest award of the festival, feel at home at the heart of the remains of the antique amphitheatre. This makes the media joke with the paradox that at Durr쳠there is no cinema hall, but there is a film festival.
The Best Director award went to Stefan Komanderev with the film The World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner. The Critic’s Award was awarded to Palermo Shooting by Wim Wenders. The Best Actor went to Ben Van Ostade for the character of Martin in “Happy Together” by Enthoven Geoffrey. And the Best Actress award went to Betty Qizmolli for the character of Lucia in Katia`s Sister by Mijke de Jong.
Responding as to why the city of Durr쳠had been chosen for the festival, Anila Varfi explained that, “Ʃn summer Durr쳠[with a sea-port and large tract of adjacent beaches] is a very attractive city. We [the organisers] thought to make it a connecting point between the Festival of Sarajevo and the Festival of Venice with the ambition to make ourselves in the future a reference point in this part of the world. The fact that Durr쳠is a seaside city is very attractive and helps the publicity of the Festival”.
The Festival also distributed a Career Award which went to the Albanian Director Dhimit철Anagnosti.
