Albania Cinematography

According to usprivateschoolsfinder, the cinema made its entrance in Albania between 1911 and 1912, thanks to some public screenings which took place in Skhodër (Scutari) and Korçë (Corizza). In the same years some foreign filmmakers came to the country to shoot documentaries, but their work left no trace. In fact, the film industry struggled to take off, so much so that it was only in 1942 (but with Italian capital) that the first documentary, Takim në liqen (Encounter on the lake) by Mihallaq Mone, was made. The birth of the first company dates back to 1947, the Ndërmarrja Kinematografike Shqiptare (Albanian film company), a state body that aimed to nationalize the various sectors of the industry. The initial period of activity was not the most brilliant and was limited to the production of documentaries, of testimonial rather than aesthetic value. Feature films began to be made in the early 1950s, after the opening of the first factory, Kinostudio Shqipëria e Re (New Albania film studio, 1953), and precisely in 1954, when the Soviet-Albanian co-production Velikij voin Albanii Skanderberg (Scanderberg, the Albanian hero), signed however by the Soviet Sergej I. Jutkevič, won two prizes at Cannes; the first entirely Albanian works were the short film Fëmijët e saj (1957, His own sons) by Hysen Hakani, and the feature film Tana (1958) directed by Kristaq Dhamo, which together with Dhimitër Anagnosti and Viktor Gjika would later prove to be one of the major authors of the country. The films made in these years of creative fervor, inspired by the models of socialist realism, exalt the class struggle, the

In the Sixties these themes were joined by that of the struggle against fascism and Nazism fought by the people during the Second World War, which was developed in works such as Komisari i dritës (1966, Il commissario della luce) by Anagnosti and Gjika, or Njësiti guerril (1969, Guerrilla Squad) by Hakani. A real boom in production occurred in the 1970s, during which, due to the political isolation that kept films from so-called Western countries out of the domestic market, the creation of national works was urged. Thus, in a short time, an annual average of six to ten films was passed, to arrive at fourteen in the 1980s, and in 1976 the Tirana Art Film Festival was inaugurated. The number of fixed and mobile screens also increased enormously, which annually attracted over twenty million spectators out of a population of about one and a half million residents. Dramatic films, favorite by the public, such as Dimri i fundit (1976, The Last Winter) by Ibrahim Muçaj and Kristaq Mitro or Ballë për ballë (1979, Face to face) by Piro Milkani and Kujtim Çashku had great success; but the children’s films also aroused considerable interest, especially those by director Xhanfize Keko, such as Beni ecën vetë (1976, Beni walks alone), and the comedies, among which Kapedani (1972, Il capitano) by Femi Hoshafi and Muharrem Fejzo.

Unfortunately, however, the expansion of production was not matched by an improvement in technologies, which began to be considerably dated; in the eighties, due to this delay, a serious financial crisis opened up in the film industry. The massive presence of television, which attracted most of the capital previously destined for cinema, accentuated this state of affairs. Paradoxically, however, this was also a period in which writers, intellectuals and artists in general looked to cinema as a privileged means of expression, and in which films such as Udha and shkronjave (1982, The Road to Letters) by Vladimir Prifti were made., or Të paftuarit (1985, April broken) by Çashku, taken from a short story by I. Kadaré. The scenario changed again, and not for the better, after 1991, with the fall of the socialist system. In 1992 Kinostudio Shqipëria e Re was privatized under the name of Albafilm; but without state economic aid and without private foreign financiers due to the conflicts that have hit the Balkan countries, Albanian cinema has entered a period of crisis. Between 1992 and 1997, production plummeted to an average of one film a year, while nearly all theaters were closed or turned into gambling houses.

In the last years of the 20th century. however, there was no lack of positive signs, which came from various fronts: film directors and authors have created La lumière, an association that guarantees the free circulation of ideas; the state film library became an independent institution and became part of the Fédération internationale des archives du film (FIAF); the production, albeit small, of documentaries, cartoons, feature films has resumed. In 1997 a state institution was reconstituted to deal with the sector, the Qendra Kombetare and Kinematografise (National Film Center), which has since financed three feature films per subject per year. The first foreign capitals arrived, especially French, which allowed the circulation of Albanian works in international festivals: in 2001 they received awards at Cannes Slogans by Gjergj Xhuvani and in Thessaloniki Tirana, année zéro by Fatmir Koçi. A decisive impetus for renewal also came from the Tirana Festival: during its eleventh edition (2000), for example, authors from Kosovo, Macedonia and Montenegro met for the first time; an important opportunity for discussion to discuss the problems of art in a delicate moment of transition. Further encouraging signs came from the exercise: in fact, the construction of a network of modern rooms has begun, the first example of which is the Millennium in Tirana (1999). during its eleventh edition (2000), for example, authors from Kosovo, Macedonia and Montenegro met for the first time; an important opportunity for discussion to discuss the problems of art in a delicate moment of transition. Further encouraging signs came from the exercise: in fact, the construction of a network of modern rooms has begun, the first example of which is the Millennium in Tirana (1999). during its eleventh edition (2000), for example, authors from Kosovo, Macedonia and Montenegro met for the first time; an important opportunity for discussion to discuss the problems of art in a delicate moment of transition. Further encouraging signs came from the exercise: in fact, the construction of a network of modern rooms has begun, the first example of which is the Millennium in Tirana (1999).