ARBËR QERKA-GASHI: It’s essential for cultural groups to see themselves fully reflected on the big screen, to experience representations that show the full range of their stories — the good and the bad.

AURELA KADRIU: In a broader political and cinematic context that alienates people from themselves and one another, there is nothing more important than creating a shared experience. As a result, placing small stories and ‘life’s little nothings’ on screen and stage becomes a political act.

Aulona Selmani and Leart Rama explore how inherited memories intertwine with the dreams of their generation in the films they create.

There are three facts about film as a medium that should be noted here, but also in general. The first is that audiences often forget that film is primarily a commodity intended to bring some kind of profit to investors. This profit isn’t always financial; sometimes it’s “artistic prestige,” shown through various festival awards. The second fact is that film […]

In cinema, we have an interesting qualification for films that were made a decade ago. When we say a film “ages well,” we mean it hasn’t been overtaken by time—it remains relevant and corresponds with the present. I often shudder when viewers tell me my film Remake is visionary, because it reflects a generational fear of stories being retold or […]

The Cleansing of Undesirable Art in Serbia There have not been many films or works of art in general produced in Serbia after 2000, which aim at critically examining the recent wartime past. They can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Even when some of them succeeded abroad, they were sidelined or marginalized in the country. The state, […]

“I hope films like Quo Vadis, Aida?, Dara from Jasenovac, and others like them contribute to developing a culture of remembrance in the Balkans, respect for victims, and regional reconciliation,” stated Jelena Trivan, chairperson at the time of the Serbian Film Center’s Board, three years ago when news broke that Quo Vadis, Aida? was shortlisted for the Academy Award for […]

My friend was telling me, all in amazement, that a group of teenagers at a screening of a new Macedonian film in the cinema (not that it is different from a screening of any Hollywood title), were constantly looking at each other’s phones and reacting only to the action moment or the line that can (only briefly) catch their attention. […]