Tirana Joins 48 Hour Film Project

TIRANA, April 13 – The 48 Hour Film Project will come to Tirana for the first time in next June. Filmmakers from all over the Albania will compete to see who can make the best short film in only 48 hours. The winning film will go up against films from around the world for the title “Best 48 Hour Film of 2010” in Los Angeles.
Filmmakers from Kosovo and Macedonia and Diaspora have been invited to participate in the festival brought to Albania by Robert Aliaj who represented Belgium in last year’s edition of the competition.
Aliaj, who is the president of the Tirana 48 Hour Film Project, said he has found the support of the Ministry of Culture, National Cinematographic Centre and Tirana Municipality to hold the first edition of the festival in Albania. The festival is aimed at promoting young Albanian directors and actors abroad.
The 48 Hour Film Project is the oldest and largest timed film competition in the world. Its mission is to advance filmmaking and promote filmmakers. The tight 48-hour deadline puts the focus squarely on the filmmakers, emphasizing creativity and teamwork and “doing” instead of “talking.” The emphasis is also on building communities of local creative people – facilitating making new connections, showcasing skills, and celebrating what creativity and teamwork can accomplish in just one weekend.
The 48 Hour Film Project is a wild and sleepless weekend in which a team makes a movie, write, shoot, edit and score it, in just 48 hours.
In 2009, nearly 40,000 filmmakers made 3,000 films in 76 cities.