MOONLESS NIGHT (Nata pa hënë)
Albania, Feature film, color, 2004; 80 min
In Albanian with English sub-titles

 

Directed and Written by: Artan Minarolli
Producers: Artan Minarolli, Joël Farges, Elise Jalladeau
Production Companies: Art Film, Artcam International and SED
Camera: Jacques Bouquin
Music: Baptiste Bouquin
Cast: Enerieta Jani, Niko Kanxheri, Lulzim Zeqja, Elton Papuciu, Ilisia Sheri

Synopsis:
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.

Festivals:
The film was shown at festivals worldwide, including:
2004 Thessaloniki Film Festival
2004 Rotterdam Film Festival
2004 Moscow Film Festival
2004 Pusan Film Festival
2005 Naples Film Festival
2005 Trenton NJ Film Festival
2005 Alexandria Film Festival

Awards
2004 Best Film Award at the MedFilm Festival, Rome, Italy
2005 Best Foreign Film at the Trenton NJ Festival, USA
2005 Best Music Score, Naples Festival, Italy


Director: Artan Minarolli
Artan was born in Tirana in 1958. He studied visual arts and film directing in Tirana, and then went on to film school in Denmark. He is also an actor, producer, stage director and short story writer.

Filmography:
100% (Albania, 1996)
The Clay Bullet (Albania, 1996)
For a Centimetre (Albania, 1994)

DVD Source:
Albanian National Film Board