Tirana Times
TIRANA, July 13 – Young Albanian actress Luli Bitri has been announced the best actress in the Festival International de Cinema de Vernon held in France from June 30 to July 3. Bitri was awarded the prize for her starring role in the Amnesty, a movie directed by Albania’s Bujar Alimani which successfully represented Albania in the Berlin Film Festival this year.
“For me it’s the first time I have received the best actress award and I feel great, it’s good when you are appreciated,” Bitri told reporters. The film is also participating in the Sarajevo film festival from July 22 to 30.One month ago, Amnesty made its premiere in Tirana at the Imperial Cinemas.
The Albanian-Greek-French co-production directed by Albania’s Bujar Alimani was financially supported by the Council of Europe’s European cinema support fund, Eurimages. The movie was shot in Albania and Greece in the autumn of 2010. It stars Albania’s Luli Bitri and Karafil Shena.Using breathtaking images without any superfluous flourishes, Amnesty depicts the life of its protagonists in today’s Albania, which is marked by unemployment, economic hardship and patriarchal structures.
“A man and a woman in Albania. Their two partners are both in custody but reforms in the penal system allow married couples to meet once a month for sexual contact. The two meet by chance in the prison and start a tender love affair that looks set to end when their partners are freed by amnesty.”
At the 2011 Berlinale, the Albanian-Greek-French co-production directed by Alimani won the C.I.C.A.E. Prize of the Guild of German Art House Cinemas.
