ROME, July.9- Nusret Pllana, a former UCK soldier, has captured with his camera the human element of war, bringing to life unique photographs of pain, loss and memory. These photos serve as unquestionable testimonies of the historical record of the war, immortalizing the suffering of hundreds. Pllana has always been aware of that while carrying his camera wherever the battles took him. Last week, in the University Sapienza of Rome, he launched an exhibition entitled “war masks, peace faces”, displaying his photos taken in the period 1998-1999. This exhibition is part of the international event “Mediteranea.”
The Serbian embassy in Rome reacted negatively with a letter directed to the festivals’ director, Fillipo Bettini, where they claim that Pllana’s photography shows only one side of the war and is biased. The embassy concluded that such art can not serve peace in the Balkans and hence is not worthy of the festival that has included it. The letter had been drafted by the head of the press office, Milisav Savi箠Savic added that Pllana has left out of his exhibition the Serbian monasteries and the sufferings of Serbian people during the NATO bombardments.
The reaction of the Serbian officials had been expected by the Kosovo artist, who has seen Serbian colleagues make controversial claims during the opening of the event, like the writer, Dunja Badnjevi笠who had to be stopped during his speech by the festival director.
The ex-soldier, Pllana, expresses instead a deep satisfaction that his shots have made exhibited throughout Europe and now are included in a prestigious festival.
Another artist from Kosovo participating in the Mediterranea festival is the well-known poet Ali Podrimja, whose creative work has been read by the Italian actress, Giovannelli de Luca. At the same time, Podrimja has presented his first volume of poetry in Italian, “Deserto Invasivo,” translated by Blerina Suta. Albanian participants during this year’s festival have featured poets Visar Zhiti and G컩m Hajdarisi, as well as violin player Anila Kraja. Artists from all over the Mediterranean countries participate in the event, organized by the association “Allegorin” and aims at enhancing communication and exchange between different cultures through art.
