11/07/2019 - The 11th iteration of the Kosovar fiction-film event promises a week full of cinema, new discoveries and a strong industry section

For the 11^th year, the Prishtina International Film Festival (PriFest), the leading fiction-film festival in Kosovo, is getting ready to welcome its guests. The festival, set to unspool from 16-21 July, will open at the National Theatre in Prishtina with Field of Blackbirds, the debut feature by Kosovar writer-director Arzana Kraja. The film is a Kosovar-UK-Albanian co-production by Circle Production Company and has been supported by the Kosovo Cinematography Center.

A total of 70 films will be screened in five competitive and five non-competitive programmes, including six world, five international, one European and 19 regional premieres. PriFest’s main competition section, the European programme, includes six movies this year: Amare Amaro [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Julien Paolini (France/Italy), Bad Bad Winter by Olga Korotko (Kazakhstan/France), Consequences [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Darko Štante
interview: Timon Sturbej
film profile] by Darko Štante (Slovenia/Austria), Elephants Can Play Football by Mikhail Segal (Russia), Now It’s Dark by Arild Østin Ommundsen (Norway) and The Days to Come [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Carlos Marques-Marcet
film profile] by Carlos Marques-Marcet (Spain).

Also, six films will be included in the Honey and Blood programme, which is the competitive section focused on Balkan cinema. The titles taking part in this competition are An Unforgettable Spring in a Forgotten Village by Kushtrim Bekteshi (North Macedonia/Kosovo/Albania), A Decent Man [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Hadrian Marcu
film profile] by Hadrian Marcu (Romania), Holy Boom [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Maria Lafi (Greece/Albania/Cyprus), Mali [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Antonio Nuić
film profile] by Antonio Nuić (Croatia), A Shelter Among the Clouds [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Robert Budina
film profile] by Robert Budina (Albania/Romania) and The Announcement [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun
film profile] by Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun (Turkey/Bulgaria).

For the third year running, PriFest will be running the PriDocs competition, focusing on documentaries, and at this edition, the slate will include nine features and three medium-lengths. PriFest is also continuing with the competitive Students’ Programme and the Experimental Programme, while Greece is the country in focus. Also, the non-competitive Let it Be special programme will screen four features with overarching LGBTQI themes: A Moment in the Reeds [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Mikko Makela (Finland/UK), Eva and Candela by Ruth Caudeli (Colombia), I Am Sofia by Silvia Luzi (Italy) and Rafiki [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Wanuri Kahiu
film profile] by Wanuri Kahiu (Kenya/South Africa/France/Netherlands/Germany/Norway/Lebanon).

PriFORUM, the key event for the Kosovar film industry, will run from 18-21 July. Nine regional projects (read about them here) will participate in the Best Pitch Competition, and in addition to the consultation that they will receive from EAVE, they will also be vying for a €50,000 post-production award provided by Kosovar company In My Country. Additionally, the fourth edition of Prishtina Rendezvous will help distributors and sales agents from Europe to find out more about current Balkan film projects.

Finally, the newest concept that has been devised by PriFest is the relaunch of Kosovo Rising Stars, which will give Kosovar actors a unique opportunity to network and meet four leading European casting directors along with Karin Dix, the programme director of EFP’s Shooting Stars. The experts will run both open and closed sessions, and they will also have a chance to scout for new talents in Kosovo.