The Durres International Film Festival: An Impressive Program

Imagine you are traveling through Albania this month, exploring the luscious country side and enjoying the captivating Adriatic Sea and you are able to attend the 5th Durres International Film Summerfest. Wouldn’t that be the most glorious vacation imaginable? Happening August 26^th the 30th, the Durres International Film Summerfest offers an impressive lineup of films that aims to establish cultural connections between Albania and other Balkan countries. Showing films at an Ancient Roman Amphitheatre and by the beach, festival goers will have the opportunity to have a cinematic experience exposed to the elements. 

Durrës, the second largest city in Albania located on the central Albanian coast, lies about 33 km (21 mi) west of the capital Tirana. It is one of the most ancient and economically important cities of Albania, situated on the Adriatic Sea opposite of the Italian ports of Bari and Brindisi.

This year the festival will offer a section called International Documentary Programme and the Short Film. The official competition will consist of 8 films selected among the most significant recent productions and 6 films in the Balkan World Section, recent productions from the region. This year the festival will also feature two new sections for best Albanian Short Film Students focusing on films produced in Albanian film schools, and  Close Encounters focusing on French film. Whether you can make it to Albania for the International Film Summerfest or not, if you follow the lineup you are sure to gain a cinematic experience worth exploring.

3 Films To Watch This Summer: A SEE Fest Blast From the Past

During the long heat wave that's sure to occupy the remainder of summer, what else is there to do than hull up inside a fortress of air conditioning and watch movies? From SEE Fest's past festival programs here are three films that should give you something of quality to watch and bring you down memory lane. So kick back, relax, and absorb the cultural richness that these films have to offer.

BEHIND THE GLASS- 2009 -  Directed by Zrinko Ogresta

Beautifully composed psychological drama about a love triangle between three Croatians reveals layers of moral dilemmas as protagonists confront fate, destiny, coincidence and individual responsibility as one marriage is falling apart. Much like Kieslowski, director Ogresta probes the social undercurrents beneath the bubble of an upscale urban living with great skill and sharp insight.Shown during the 2009 SEE Fest Program 

THE WAY I SPENT THE END OF THE WORLD - 2006 - Directed by Catalin Mitulescu

Winner of Best Actress award for Dorotheea Petre's performance at Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard category in 2006, “The Way I Spent the End of the World” is a heart-warming coming-of-age story of two siblings making the most of it in the last months of Ceausescu’s regime in Romania. Brilliantly acted by the pitch-perfect Dorotheea Petre (“Ryna”), and young boy Timotei Duma, the film follows them through the pains of first love and challenged loyalties.Shown during the 2007 SEE Fest Program 


MOONLESS NIGHT - 2004 - Directed and Written by: Artan Minarolli

Director Artan Minarolli

Rudina, a 16-year old girl, and her grandfather travel on a train through Albania hoping to emigrate abroad. On the train, Rudina falls in love with 25-year old Gjergi. Their flirtation leads them to become separated from Rudina’s grandfather and they suffer many hardships trying to reunite with him. Once they do, they discover a devastating secret that connects them to an earlier instance of migration, involving a young man who falls in love with a village girl while attempting to escape from Albania under Hoxha’s dictatorship. In both stories, migration is a seemingly unattainable goal, with the love between young people constituting the primary source of hope for social renewal.Shown during the 2008 SEE Fest Program