Follows rural GP Dr Ylli Hasani who risked imprisonment in totalitarian Albania by listening to the BBC World Service to keep up to date with world events, especially English football.
A documentary that investigates the complexity of a nation, Albania, through the narration of the convoluted history of its monuments. What happens to the statues when they are destroyed, what are they replaced with and where do their marble shreds end up? What happens to their expensive bronze? And again: what do the sculptors who made these statues think of these destructions, what is their opinion. And today? Which statues are being destroyed in Albania today?
Ilir Luma, a martial arts master specialized in the Pelasgian art of "Mundije", escaped the communist regime, when he was only 14 years old. He'd witnessed the hanging of a poet in the city of Kukes, Albania. In Germany, at a Taekwondo school, he meets Ana, who became his student and his girlfriend. Ilir promised to be there for her, whenever she needs him. Thirty years later, Ana is kidnapped and sent to Mexico. Ilir risks his life to rescue his kidnapped girlfriend, and battles the most dangerous fighters in the world.
A short documentary about a small village in the city of Ulcinj, that has 3 bridges.
In the Kosovo War, human dignity was shattered by the terrors of the Serbian government and the Albanian liberation army. Truths about the victims’ fates faded away, which is why a Finnish forensic research group led by Helena Ranta got a mission to act as an unbiased agent and investigate the real course of events.
The story of Viktor Stratoberdha (1921-1991) mirrors many of Albania’s tragedies. Stradoberdha’s humorous, buoyant style led him to be one of the country’s most promising filmmakers. But after being denounced in 1956, he was expelled from the Kinostudio and sent into internal exile. In 1967, Stratoberdha directed a local theater play in which the economic five year plan was placed in a coffin. He was then jailed for the next two decades. Urime Shokë Studentë! is one of the surviving documentaries of Viktor Stratoberdha’s all too short career.
Made by the highly influential Russian cameraman Roman Karmen, this documentary vividly features Albanian life immediately after the communists came to power in 1944. The film is especially memorable since it’s missing much of the heavy socialist realism that marked Albanian doc making. Shortly after he completed the film, Karmen set off for Berlin to shoot the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.
The Balkans cradles Europe's last wild rivers and supports abundant wildlife and healthy, intact ecosystems. These rivers are "The Undamaged" – clean, pristine, and undammed. With over 2,700 small and large hydro power plants planned or under construction in the Balkans, corruption and greed are destroying the last free-flowing rivers of Europe. Follow the Balkan Rivers Tour, a rowdy crew of whitewater kayakers, filmers, photographers and friends who decided to stand up for the rivers, travelling from Slovenia to Albania for 36 days, kayaking 23 rivers in 6 countries to protest the dams and show the world the secret wild rivers of the Balkans. The film honours everyday people and local activists who are fighting to defend rivers and aims to spread the word of the plight of these rivers, showing a new style of nature conservation that is fun, energetic and effective.
Mad dictators, trigger-happy mobs, archaic blood feuds - this pretty much sums up what Western Europeans know about Albania. But reality in this long forgotten Balkan country is much more complex and multilayered. SHQIPERIA - NOTES FROM ALBANIA offers a flow of stories from and about Albania, displaying the country in its true diversity, unspeculatively illuminating its conflicts and discovering this blank spot on the map of Europe in all its contradictions.
A dramatic depiction of honor, family feuds and thousand-year-old traditions. In Albania, the tradition of avenging an injustice according to the motto "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" still lives on. This has led to people being trapped in their homes for fear of being murdered due to a family feud.
The Balkans 1443 . After a long successful military experience in the Turkish army, the reputation of the young Kastriota reached Albania and people began to hope in his return to his homeland, from which he was taken away as a child. When the Sultan gives the hero the task of facing János Hunyadi, Kastriota will start a journey towards finding his true self and choosing his path.
After the foreign specialists leave, engineer Lulëzim is left in charge of building the Fierza Hydroelectric Power Station.
A teacher in a remote village gets hindered by zealot members of the community who still believe in old superstitions.
Documentary about Congres VI of the Women's Union.
A film about the Italian troops leaving Vlora and Albanian partisans finally entering the enemy camp.
Four partisans are tasked with delivering a song to the Congress of Përmet.
Based on the works of Sterjo Spasse. Kujtim Morava goes to work in a remote village. He assists in the destruction of churches and mosques since they spread a regressive mentality.
During World War II, an Italian agent tries to infiltrate the Albanian guerrilla units under the identity of 'engineer Tosti'.