ALBANIA

2019 – DCP – color – 77’

Direction: Florenc Papas
Screenplay: Florenc Papas, Ajola Daja
Cinematography: Sevdije Kastrati
Editing: Stefan Stabenow
Set design: Erjona Daka
Music: Aleksandar Pejovksi
Costumes: Borana Gjyzeli
Cast: Luli Bitri, Jonida Vokshi, Maxwell Guzja, Sotiraq Bratko, Elidon Aliko, Guljelm Radoja, Visar Vishka, Jorgaq Tushe, Andi Begolli
Producers: Eno Milkani con with Besnik Krapi, Riccardo Neri, Goran Stojilkovic, Vladimir Stojcevski
Production: Bunker Film +, Circle Production, Lupin Film, Award Film & Video

SYNOPSIS
Married Rudina sets off on a long journey with her pregnant sister, Elma, to meet their strict, traditional father in the Albanian village where they were born. As Rudina’s car makes its way across the mountains, Elma comes up with a plan to enlist an ex-classmate to play the part of her husband.

FLORENC PAPAS

THE DIRECTOR:

Florenc Papas (1991) studied film directing and media at the Marubi Film Academy in Tirana. He has worked in numerous short films, promotional videos, television series and broadcast documentaries.
His first feature film Open Door (Dere e Hapur) was completed on 2019 and was presented on the main competition of 25th Sarajevo Film Festival. As a festival programmer, he is currently working for Tirana International Film Festival. Papas is an alumnus of Sarajevo Talents 2015, Berlinale Talents 2016 and First Films First. With his projects he has also participated at Sofia Meetings, Midpoint, Torino Film Lab and Priforum. At the moment he is working on his second film titled Luna Park.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

“As a younger filmmaker coming from a certain generation, I feel tremendous empathy and fascination for these characters. I find myself particularly drawn to this confrontation between the traditional values of our parents and values in our present environment. Perhaps this is the one thing ideology has not been able to impact: the very specific nature of the Albanian family. The characteristics of these clans are often marked by an extremely stubborn and serious father, a long-suffering, hard working mother, and children who attempt to live their own lives but feel they must please and live up to their parents’ expectations.
For me, as a director, the inner workings and dynamics inside families, Albanian and otherwise, is the compelling material of which great cinema is made. The sisters in my story go to ridiculous lengths to please their unhappy father (…)”

FILMOGRAPHY

2013 If… (short)
2019 Dere e Hapur (Open Door)
202? Luna Park

AWARDS AND FESTIVALS

2019 Sarajevo FF – Programma Concorso Lungometraggi Competition Programme Feature Film
2019 Manaki Brothers FF – European Cinema Perspectives
2019 Seanema FF
2019 Tirana IFF
2019 CineEast- Central and Eastern European FF- Concorso Competition
2019 Thessaloniki IFF – Balkan Survey
2019 Zinebi IFF
2019 Kolkata IFF

TRAILER