19/05/2026 - CANNES 2026: The Kosovar-based director talks about not holding back from putting the personal on screen and finding a close-up subjectivity in her sophomore feature

(© Artan Korenica)

Telling the story of the 13-year-old title character as she navigates life amidst the turbulent 1990s in Kosovo, Dua world-premiered in the Cannes Critics’ Week section as the first film from Kosovo in this competition. Director and co-writer Blerta Basholli, who scooped the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at Sundance for her 2021 debut feature, Hive, spoke with Cineuropa about her highly personal approach and about creating a picture that feels intimate and touching – but not too sentimental.

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Cineuropa: The film has a strong push and pull between remembrance and escapism. What does this duality mean for you as a filmmaker?
Blerta Basholli: It’s there, and you felt it. As I was researching for the movie, I asked a friend of mine why we were so into partying in that period, listening to music or pogo dancing – what was that about? During the war, and only half an hour away from Pristina, or sometimes even closer, people were being killed. They were on the front lines. How could we be going out for a drink? [My friend] said it was a form of survival. It was our way of resisting or pretending to be normal. As a teenager, even if it’s during a conflict, you want to have these little moments where you feel normal – you want to dream, you want to party, you want to fall in love. You want to have these little moments, no matter what. For me, that sense of escapism was always present. Even now, looking back, I was trying to understand how and why we were really doing it. I think it was a way of relieving the anger and pressure that was always present in our everyday lives – to somehow let it go. Otherwise, we might have exploded from everything that was happening.

The camera stays very close to Dua for almost the entire running time, creating an intimate effect. Was this your approach all along, or did it come about later on?
When I met [cinematographer] Lucie [Baudinaud] for the first time, I told her that I really liked having this more documentary approach and a handheld camera. At one point, we were even discussing having some static moments. But then, as we approached pre-production, I wanted to [focus on Dua]. We kind of stuck to the handheld camera, and all of the scenes were filmed as one shot. Then, we edited between shoots and had some pickups. For me and Lucie, it was really important to be with Dua. We have this subjective feeling of everything going on around her, rather than showing and being more observant of the situation. I wanted the audience to be with her and hopefully feel what she’s feeling.

Especially considering that you have said that many scenes are rooted in your own experience, how do you decide between what elements to put on screen and what elements to keep to yourself?
Well, I wanted to put everything [on screen]. I wrote the first draft, and I really wanted to be vulnerable and open. Maybe that’s why I wanted to make films, because I can openly talk about things people don’t talk much about. I put everything out there. I wanted to discuss even the assault that she goes through – I went through it. I don’t know if everybody in my life even knows about it, but I’m open to talking about it through film or even in person in order to speak about these small, silent threats that girls have to endure during, or outside, the war. It was really important to have it all. Of course, we had to remove some things because they weren’t working. Sometimes, I would fall in love with certain elements because of nostalgia, but it wasn’t working for the story.

Speaking of which, the film feels quite unsentimental, but there are hints of nostalgia, like the singalong scene. How did you approach striking this balance?
Sometimes, it was during the process. For example, during the scene when she runs away from the Serbian teenagers, the music made it a little bit more sentimental. I’m always the one resisting it being too sentimental. We had a cue from Audrey [Ismaël], the composer, and then she modified it to be more sentimental. I was like, “Ah, is that too much?” But I kind of liked it. I thought this moment deserved to be sentimental. We’re shying away quite a lot from emotion in the whole film. With the singing scene, music was a really big part of our lives when we wanted to let off steam and express ourselves. For me, that’s a huge climax in how they’re feeling, but I didn’t want it to be said through words, hugs or crying.

You work with a set of amazing newcomers, but you also have established actors with whom you’ve worked before, like Yllka Gashi. Do you have a particular approach to working with actors with different levels of experience and from different backgrounds?
For me, it’s always instinctive. I don’t have any kind of strategy. Pinea Matoshi [who plays Dua] is very instinctive. She just needs to understand and feel what you want her to do. When Pinea and Viera [Bilalli, who plays Maki] were together, they really clicked. And when Pinea was with the family, it was amazing, as she fitted in very naturally.