Inchiodato
In northern Albania, ancestral customs still exist, governing the laws of vendetta between families. Sometimes, for generations, an old feud has pitted two clans against each other, condemning them to take turns murdering a member of the opposing family. This blood code, known as the Kanoun, has painful consequences for many Albanians, who are condemned to live in seclusion to avoid being killed.
Seeking Sun Paths
Nebi Surreli lives in poverty along with his mother. Doing small jobs to earn a living, he also helps his town's communist unit.
Tirana Year Zero
Tirana Year Zero (Tirana, année zéro), is a 2002 Albanian film that tells the story of a young couple in post-communist Albania, at a time when many Albanians left the country in search for a better life abroad. The protagonist of the movie is Nik, who lives in the capital of Albania, Tirana, along with his mother and father. He is in love with a beautiful girl named Klara, who wants to move to Paris to be a model. Nik makes his living with an old truck that belonged to his father, who is now sick, and seemingly dying. Amidst the criticisms of his mother, the confusion and desperation covering the country, and the desire of his girlfriend to leave, Nik is still unsure whether he wants to leave. The film explores the way Nik handles the events of his life.
Tomka and His Friends
Tomka is a boy who likes playing football with his friends. When the German army captures his town, the German soldiers establish their camp in the town stadium. Tomka with help from his friends and their parents organizes sabotage actions against the soldiers.
The Shout
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.
The Albanian Challenge
Albania is the country in Europe that Europe probably knows the least about. Underdeveloped yesterday, Marxist today, breaking with the Kremlin, in friendship with Red China, we hardly know more. For journalists, the country of Enver Hoxha is one of the most closed 'hunting' territories in the world.
Benito Mussolini: Anatomy of a Dictator
The Return of the Dead Army
A general and an Italian priest arrive in Albania to retrieve the bones of the soldiers who were killed during the war.
Here Be Dragons
Filmmaker Mark Cousins goes to Albania for five days, and films what he sees. He discovers that the movie prints in the country's film archive are decaying. In investigating this, Cousins begins to encounter bigger questions about the history and memory of a place. Perhaps a country whose 20th Century, dominated by its authoritarian ruler Enver Hoxha, was so traumatic, should allow its film heritage to fade away? Perhaps a national forgetting should be welcomed? Influenced by the films of Chris Marker, Cousins' film broadens to consider the architecture of dictators and the great icon paintings of Onufri. In the past, when cartographers knew little about a country, they wrote on it Here be Dragons. Albania was, for decades, one of the least well know countries in the world. Cousins' road movie meditation takes the advice of Goethe: "If you would understand the poet, you must go to the poet's land."
The Guerrilla Unit
During WWII in Albania, partisans assassinate the collaborationist Colonel Makareci and destroy an enemy arsenal, but betrayal leads to guerrilla fighter Drita to be captured. When Pedro is ordered to execute her to prove loyalty, he reveals his identity and comrades mount a daring rescue, capturing the fascist police chief.
Dua Lipa: Elevating
One of the most recognizable voices in all of modern day music, Dua Lipa quickly rose to fame. Her catchy tunes and sultry vocals make her music appeal to a global audience.
Our Land
After the agrarian reform, a dispute for the land starts between two families in north Albania.
Stars Over the River Drin
After the foreign specialists leave, engineer Lulëzim is left in charge of building the Fierza Hydroelectric Power Station.
The Girls with the Red Ribbons
Jeta is a student who is a member of the illegals and tries to create a group of antifascist girls in her school.
The Commissar of Light
After World War II, more than 85% of the Albanian people were illiterate. Partisan soldier Dritan Shkaba is tasked with opening new schools in north Albania to enlighten the population.
La conquista de Albania
King Carlos II of Spain (r. 1665-1700) once sent his brother Luis to lead a military expedition into Albania and conquer that land for the Spaniards. Since Albania was a part of the dowry of Luis' wife, it seemed like a reasonable idea at the time. While that expedition and its final battle is the subject of this historical film, the scale involved can hardly do justice to the concept. The protagonists talk incessantly, and by the time they get down to the final grand battle, it turns out to be a skirmish between several dozen men.
Gjama
“Gjama” is a rarely practiced mourning ritual that was performed by Albanian men throughout the centuries. By shouting specific phrases and acting out a strict choreography, it is a way of paying respect to the deceased but also overcoming grief and pain over the loss of a loved one. Through the documentation of the re-enactment of the ritual, Zgjim Elshani seeks to recover fragments of the practice in the communities where this form of collective grieving is still a way of overcoming loss. By doing so, the project intends to rethink collective grieving and what it means to publicly display emotions in a male-headed society.
Valley of the Riflemen
Met Sokoli is a young pioneer who fights against a band of saboteurs entering Albania.
The Ambush
A film set during World War II - a small partisan unit must ambush a German convoy.
Victory Over Death
World War II. Albania is under the Nazi occupation. The Germans capture two young girls and torture them to learn more about the communist movement.