The influence of cinema in Albanian-speaking territories: from its beginnins to her children, the unrecognized first Albanian film

Eno MILKANI

 Abstract: “Her Children” – The First Albanian Short Film, but Not Recognized as the First Albanian Film. The impact of cinema on Albanian-speaking territories, and later on Albanian society, from 1897 to the release of the first Albanian short film, “Her Children” (1957), which is recognized as the first Albanian short film but not as the first Albanian film.

Cinema and its profound influence on a society with a deeply oriental mentality, its role in transforming this society—rooted in an imperial past—towards embracing a Western vision and practices. This shift was a natural movement for Albanians, from the declaration of independence to the early stages of industrial capitalism in the late 1930s.

Albanians became victims of visual propaganda, shaped by social-political and his­torical conditions, and influenced by the optimistic imagery coming from the former socialist bloc and the implementation in Albania’s own cinematography.

The education of the first Albanian filmmakers, who documented the reality of a spe­cific period, reflected both the need and the desire to consolidate cinema as an art form—not just as a political tool, but as a social necessity. However, the propagan­distic misalignment with the censorship mechanism of the time marked the final mo­ment of artistic freedom and the beginning of a state-controlled, one-party artistic expression.

Keywords: Albanian film, cinema, Albanian cinematography, industrial capital­ism.

Introduction

The influence of cinema in Alba­nian-speaking territories and later in Albanian society, from 1897 to the release of the short film Her Children (1957) — known as the first Albanian short film, but not as the first Albanian film — marks a profound cultural and ideological transformation in a society with an Oriental mindset and an impe­rial past. Cinema, from its earliest screenings at the end of the 19th cen­tury, had an immediate impact on Albanian society, which was just be­ginning to shape its national identity and detach itself from the influence of the Ottoman Empire. With the decla­ration of independence in 1912 and through ongoing contact with the West — primarily via Italy — Alba­nian society began to orient itself to­ward a more modern, urban, and sec­ular vision. Cinema became an im­portant element in this process: it in­fluenced lifestyle, fashion, behavior, and, later, even civic consciousness.

During the monarchy period and later under the fascist occupation, cinema in Albania functioned primar­ily as a tool of propaganda. However, it also represented a form of visual enchantment for a population with a high rate of illiteracy. Through films, Albanians not only experienced dif­ferent geographical and cultural reali­ties, but also began to construct new images of themselves and of the world. After World War II and the establishment of the communist re­gime, the influence of cinema became institutionalized. Albanians, as part of an isolated world ideologically aligned with the East, were exposed to optimistic and idealized images of the socialist bloc, which began to be ab­sorbed into the emerging local cinema as well. The formation of the first Albanian filmmakers coincided with this period. They documented the realities of the time, often driven by the need to construct a collective memory that supported the new order. However, the early efforts to develop cinema as an independent form of art—one that aimed for more than just propaganda—could not escape cen­sorship. Instead of becoming a space for creative expression, Albanian cin­ema was drawn into a system con­trolled by the Party, where every nar­rative had to conform to the official ideology.

The 1957 film Her Children marks not only the official beginning of film production in Albania but also the end of a relatively experimental era and the start of a period in which cinema would become the voice of propa­ganda — an art form that displayed only what was permitted to be shown.

When did cinema arrive in Albania?

On December 28, 1895, the day the Lumière brothers held their first projection in the “Indian Salon” of the Grand Café in Paris, in the Albanian-speaking territories still under the Ottoman Empire, the art of photog­raphy had already been present for over thirty years in the city of Shkodër thanks to the Italian Pietro Marubi, who arrived there as a Garibaldian persecuted by the Austro-Hungarians.

Tirana, which would become Albania’s capital 25 years later, was far from embracing the art of photog­raphy or having similar studios. De­spite the particular social and political context, in Albanian-speaking regions struggling with issues of national identity—through education, the es­tablishment of the first Albanian-lan­guage schools, economic conditions, and high illiteracy rates—the first public film projections took place only two years after the birth of cinema. These projections occurred mainly along the Durrës–Elbasan–Korçë–Florina–Bitola–Skopje axis, but also in other cities like Shkodër and Vlorë¹. The first question that arises is: how were film projections possible in cities where electricity didn’t yet exist? The Lumière brothers’ device, called the “Cinématographe,” used a carbon arc lamp system powered by a portable battery as its light source. This made the projector functional without needing a direct electricity connection, making it more practical than other similar devices of the time.

It is important to understand that these were not projections in dedi­cated cinema halls, nor were they fully-fledged films. These screenings (we avoid the word “shows” so as not to imply theatrical performances, which were more common though not professional) were typically organized on special occasions—often tied to religious holidays, folk festivals, or by small entertainment groups traveling from one city to another. These rudi­mentary projections began with lan­tern or candlelight shows, using mir­rors or projected photographs to nar­rate a story out loud by actors or, in some cases, accompanied by music. This type of activity did not take place in specialized venues but rather in tavernas, cafés, parks, and similar informal settings.

Political-Social Situation 1900–1912 and the “Cinematographic Adventurers”

In 1900, while Germany was pro­ducing the first “Mercedes” car and Max Planck was publishing the “Quantum Theory,” the southeastern part of Europe, the Balkans, was fac­ing state-building problems. In 1900, Albania (still not independent) was driven by a strong desire for identity and greater autonomy from the Ottoman Empire after more than four centuries of rule. Armed clashes and small revolts in the Dibra region, with the highlanders fighting against Ottoman military units, were also tied to religious affiliations, further fueling the sense of independence among the local population. After the 1908 Congress of Monastir, the teaching of the Albanian language became one of the most important activities of intel­lectuals and prominent figures of the time. The Ottoman Empire, weakened by internal conflicts, was trying to maintain its balance in the Balkans.

A more accurate piece of infor­mation comes visually from the pho­tographs of the German historian and archaeologist Karl Patsch, who trav­eled through several Albanian cities such as Vlora, Berat, and Myzeqe. In these photos, the inhabitants are mostly dressed in self-made clothes, and the main activity is agriculture with some trade.

These photos also reflect traveling musicians, suggesting that live music was one of the most common forms of entertainment. We should not forget the fact of a rich folk musical heritage, ranging from polyphony to the use of various musical instruments. Addi­tionally, there is a wide variety of different musical forms within a rela­tively small geographic area. Geo­graphically, Albania has always been at the crossroads of empires and civi­lizations, even though it also has often been isolated from the mainstream of European history. In the Middle Ages, Albania was once again a buffer zone, this time between Catholic Italy and the Byzantine Greek Empire. After its definitive conquest by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century, it formed a bridgehead between Christian Europe and the Islamic Orient². In short, this would be the picture of an Albania divided between those who were beginning to feel nostalgic for the Ottoman Empire and those who were thinking about independence from this empire.

In this atmosphere, some “adven­turers” would attempt to introduce the latest invention of the Lumière broth­ers, for entertainment and profit by selling tickets. We can truly call them adventurers because their investment in these lands, which were already focused on breaking away from five centuries of Ottoman rule, could also result in financial failure.

One might deem Albania a western outpost of the Ottoman Empire and end it at that. Or one might consider the Albania of the League of Prizren, which brought Albanian national in­terests to the outside world, or of the 1908 Congress of Monastir, which standardized the Albanian alphabet. After 1912, Albania could have re­ferred to the confines of independent Albania or to the broader Albanophone territories³.  The first cinematographers of the Balkans were the Manaki brothers, Janaki Manaki (1878–1954) and Milton Manaki (1882–1964).

In the capital of Romania, we learned that cameras capable of making still photos move were being sold in France and England. Janaki could not escape the idea of returning to Bitola/Manastir with a motion-pic­ture camera. Even in his sleep, he dreamed of it. When I returned, he set off for London, where he bought a “bioscope camera.⁴“ This is what Milton Manaki recounts in one of his interviews. A decade after the Lu­mière brothers, the Manaki brothers would bring and begin filming with their Bioscope camera, model 300, in the Balkans.

Their first film, possibly shot in the spring of 1907 in Avdella (Greece), depicts their grandmother Despina among a group of women spinning wool⁵.^. There is much debate over the origin of the Manaki brothers—whether they were Albanian, Greek, Romanian, or Macedonian—but this is not important, as today their photo­graphic and historical heritage within the boundaries of the Ottoman Empire is a Balkan treasure. They left behind evidence through their films, showing the Vlach population of Avdella, identified by their traditional dances and clothing, as well as footage from Monastir/Bitola, Thessaloniki, Dibra, Ohrid, etc. Even though it was a po­litically “heated” period, people still had time for entertainment.

What is most important is the pos­itive approach of the population to­ward public screenings. In the footage taken during that period, it is interest­ing to see the relationship between people and the camera. They were somewhat familiar with the art of photography, where one had to go to a studio dressed in their best clothes to have a photo taken as a memento. However, with the camera now going out into the streets, this relationship changes. The camera that films goes out into the streets and captures peo­ple as they are in their daily lives. Decades later, and even today, the curiosity that people feel when a cam­era is shooting is palpable. At the be­ginning of the 20th century, everyone around the camera and the camera­man, who is turning a crank, has one thing in common: they all look at the camera. Some with astonishment, trying to understand what is happen­ing, others with a smile. There are also those who try to avoid it because they are afraid of this new and strange de­vice. Those who look with surprise may not even understand the function of this box standing on a tripod. Those who smile know that their image is being captured on celluloid, and some of them take a posed position, making sure they are properly positioned be­fore it.

We are dealing with the establish­ment of a new form of communication or language, which over the years will further develop. This will be the “Language” of cinema, which will try to communicate with the audience. A language that, after more than 100 years of history, continues to evolve. In some archival footage that I have used in a documentary, it is clear that at one point, on a marketplace street, a young Muslim girl, half-covered with a scarf, when she notices the presence of the camera, shows a look of sur­prise, and then quickly turns her back on the camera and walks away. Per­haps this girl had heard of this strange device, which can capture your image, and she might also have heard that if you stand before it, it could even steal your soul.

According to researcher Abaz Hoxha, in Albania, as early as 1902-1903, the representatives of the British company Charles Urban Company were the first to film in Albanian ter­ritories, until 1912-13, during the Balkan Wars. In the Central State Film Archive, three to four frames dated 1913 are probably the first films shot in Tirana. One of these frames identifies the Et-hem Beu Mosque, indicating that the filming took place in the center of Tirana on a rainy day, even before it was declared the capi­tal. In 1920, during the Congress of Lushnja, Tirana was declared the cap­ital of Albania. These films are cer­tainly linked to the independence of Albania, which was declared in 1912. In these frames, some passersby look directly at the camera lens, but their posture is very serious, reflecting a time when this form of visual com­munication was still something new and unfamiliar to many people.

In the footage filmed by a camer­aman from the “Pathe” company in 1913 in Shkodra, the same phenome­non can be observed. The scenes are related to the entry of the Montenegrin army into Shkodra after they had re­pelled the Turkish forces from the city and the fortress. At different moments during the filming, a Montenegrin soldier aboard a “Neptune” ship, moving on Lake Shkodra, draws the attention of other soldiers, making them aware of the presence of the camera. The soldier stands, adjusts his uniform, and assumes a military stance. This is also noticed by a few women sitting on the ground, who turn their heads for just a few mo­ments.

What is more interesting is the fact that the Albanian Highlanders who fought in support of the Montenegrin forces, after the battle, pose proudly in front of the camera. It is difficult to say where they learned how to pose in front of the camera. Perhaps it was from the presence of the “Marubi” studio, which left thousands of photo­graphic negatives taken over the years.

Yes, Albanians knew how to posi­tion themselves in front of the camera, and they also learned from what they had seen and heard by the end of the first decade of the 20th century. Just who was making films and who was viewing them? Such is the puzzle that surrounds the mere notion of an Al­banian cinema. Defining Albanian cinema of the early years of the twen­tieth century would be as tricky as defining the Balkans themselves! And even if we arrive at a definition, there is yet another hindrance⁶.^.

This is because, from Korça and Dibra to Shkodra and down to Saranda, until 1912—before the crea­tion of what would later be called the Albanian state—the region was merely the farthest outpost of a shrinking empire, weakened by inter­nal conflicts and the growing re­sistance of Balkan peoples seeking independence from the Ottoman Em­pire. Albania was a remote corner of the empire, geographically closer to Italy and Europe, and more exposed to their economic influence. Trade and the movement of people by sea were becoming more frequent, and along with various goods, Italian, German, and British cinematographers arrived by ship, filming short newsreels and occasionally organizing film screen­ings.

1912-1939: Major Social and Political Changes

In 1912, on November 28, Albania declared its independence under the leadership of Ismail Qemali in Vlorë, even though Turkish forces were still present on the territory. There are no film recordings of this historic event—only a single photograph ex­ists, and even that was taken the day after the official declaration of inde­pendence. The years following inde­pendence were marked primarily by an increase in film screenings across various Albanian cities, though these were mostly accessible to a selected and privileged audience. The influ­ence of cinema during this period was undoubtedly strong. Wealthy families, inspired by the films they watched, began imitating actors in their cloth­ing, makeup, and lifestyle—adopting a way of living different from before. Previously, this kind of cultural aspi­ration came through literature, but now it arrived with greater intensity through cinema.

This growing demand prompted merchants to increase their trade vol­ume, primarily importing from Italy clothing, perfumes, soaps, sewing machines, fabrics, automobiles, sani­tary products, and many other goods related to daily consumption. In the main cities, the alla-franga fashion (European-style fashion) became highly important. It was a way for individuals to express and showcase a new social status. At these screenings, the primary attendees were individu­als with a high economic status, mem­bers of the diplomatic corps and their families, political and military figures, merchants, and others⁷.  And all this influence was still inocent, not yet with a certain kind of propaganda. Very quickly, within just a few years, the Bolsheviks in the Soviet Union would understand the power of cin­ema, and with the rise of Fascism to power, massive investments would be made in building a propaganda appa­ratus through both documentary and feature films.

Very soon, short educational films began to circulate—primarily focused on the importance of disinfection, protective measures against typhoid, and collective hygiene.

But the detailed portrayal of the disinfection process depicted in the film echoes the visual approach of multiple exhibitions prepared in the 1920s. This approach was utilized in other documentary films disseminated in Balkan countries with a predomi­nance of Muslim populations, such as Turkey and Albania⁸.

The screening and projection of many films in the following years would become increasingly tied to the opening of public venues that could facilitate this experience. The first public cinema in Albania was opened in Shkodër in 1912 by an Austrian, housed in Kol Idromeno’s residence, and continued operating until the start of World War I. The First World War somewhat slowed this trend due to political instability within Albanian territory.

Nevertheless, foreign groups con­tinued filming, though primarily fo­cused on military formations moving through Albania, producing newsreels to capture, among other things, the consequences of these battles. With the rise to power of the Bolsheviks under Lenin’s leadership, film pro­duction would become the most pow­erful tool of propaganda. Lenin under­stood that the language of cinema is universal—an ideal medium for a vast country like the Soviet Union, with millions of inhabitants and a high rate of illiteracy. Initially, he saw cinema as a means to unite people, and later as an essential instrument of propa­ganda.

Lenin was the first political leader of the 20th century to recognize both the importance of film as propaganda and its power to communicate quickly and effectively. He understood that audiences did not require literacy to comprehend a film’s meaning and that more people could be reached through mass-distributed motion pic­tures than through any other medium of the time⁹.^.

Until 1939, many cinemas were opened in various cities of Albania, largely due to the strong friendship and growing exchanges with Italy. This was made possible by Ahmet Zogu, a controversial figure who ini­tially served as Prime Minister of Albania from 1922 to 1924, then as President from 1925 to 1928, and later as self-proclaimed King until 1939. His actions also facilitated this devel­opment, as Ahmet Zogu worked to build a European profile for Albania. In 1937, by a parliamentary decree, he passed a law banning the use of the ferexhe (a traditional Islamic garment worn by women). This was a sign of Ahmet Zogu’s Western-oriented tendencies, as he had lived in Austria, but his reforms were half-hearted, and he led Albania into economic depend­ence on Italy and Mussolini. Private initiatives flourished during Zogu’s reign, mainly due to the physical pres­ence of Italians in Albania. With their money, many roads and bridges were built, partly for military purposes, but cities like Tirana, Durrës, and Shkodër began to take on an urban profile. Still, the figure of the Albanian filmmaker was missing, although various groups filmed across Albania.

In 1925, the first Albanian film company was established in Tirana by the Beshiri brothers, named the Na­tional Cinema-Theater Society. They requested the removal of customs duties on equipment and a subsidy of 20,000 francs. Their repeated requests were rejected by a decision of the Council of Ministers and the Chamber of Deputies. However, the society achieved its goals a year later¹⁰.

Mainly, the films were shot by Italians, and Italian films were also shown in Albania. With the arrival of the communists to power, everything belonging to this family was confis­cated, and the heirs were persecuted by the communist regime. Although they continued to live in a small house on Barrikadave Street near the “17 Nëntorit” cinema, which had once been their property, they were not interned like many other merchants. In 1922, Mussolini came to power, and two years later, the “Luce” Institute was established, where all of its crea­tive output was put at the service of the fascist regime.

For the inauguration of the new headquarters of “Istituto Luce”, an Italian film corporation created in 1924, the Fascist regime prepared a large backdrop showing Mussolini behind a camera, with these words below: ‘Cinematography is the strongest weapon’. In a country where the illiteracy rate exceeded 35% and very few people read newspapers, cinema immediately became a very effective means of spreading infor­mation, a means that fascism would use with obsessive attention¹¹.

Under the umbrella of a strong friendship between Ahmet Zogu, ini­tially as Prime Minister and later as King of Albania, such propaganda films began to be shown in Albania. This was also due to the fact that the communist influence, which had pen­etrated Albania, clashed with the re­gime of Ahmet Zogu. The films, where the villains were the com­munists and the communist move­ment, were just as effective as other films. Such films, often in the form of newsreels, were shown in cinemas before feature films. This marked a new phase in the relationship between the audience and the film. The film had its dedicated time, schedule, and announcements were made through posters, and its length had increased. Thus, the audience began to savor, reflect, critique, adopt, or even despise the film. However, it had started to become a form of spiritual nourish­ment that made you dream, hate, love, and identify with the deeds, heroism, or events that came to the screen through various films and actors.

The relationship between Musso­lini and Ahmet Zogu also became like a film with many behind-the-scenes twists. Ahmet Zogu, as King, opposed Mussolini’s expansionist plans, which escalated tensions between Albania and Italy. On April 7, 1939, the Italian army invaded Albania, and after a brief resistance in Durrës, they entered Tirana within 24 hours without facing any significant opposition. Ahmet Zogu and his people fled to Greece, where he stayed for a few days in Florina before leaving, never to return. The Italians would remain in Albania until 1943, when Fascist Italy surren­dered.

Over the years, Italy has invested in Albania, as mentioned earlier, with both military and economic goals in mind. They built roads and bridges and established a small industry in Albania, primarily focused on ex­ploiting natural resources like oil and chrome. To strengthen this friendship, the Italians filmed a movie with Ital­ian actors that had an Albanian theme. “The Knight of Krujë” (1941) is the first film shot in Albania. Most of the scenes were filmed outdoors. The plot takes place during the Italian occupa­tion of Albania, where an Italian jour­nalist falls in love with an Albanian girl. Unknowingly, he becomes a blood brother with her brother, as per Albanian customs, by drinking each other’s blood. When the girl finds out that the Italian has become a blood brother with her biological brother, she is devastated, and the Italian jour­nalist realizes that according to Alba­nian customs, they cannot be together. However, this obstacle is overcome by the Italian occupation of Albania, and their love triumphs. In the Sep­tember 7th edition of the newspaper “Tribuna”, the article written about the film emphasizes that, for the first time, the Italian audience saw the customs and culture of the people on the other side of the Adriatic Sea.

Rich in genuine local color, pop­ular festivals and rituals, dances, and songs, they are here and there the backdrop and commentary to the story — the film seemed to fully meet the intentions of its creators as well as the expectations of the audience, which was to see for the first time, in the vivid function of the screen, side by side, our people and theirs¹².

According to researcher Abaz Hoxha, the film was shown only once in Tirana, and its screening was con­tested by antifascist youth. Up until now, according to Abaz T. Hoxha, between 1920-1939, around 1,600 films were shown in Albania, with ticket sales reaching about 500,000. This is considered a small number of sales due to the limited number of theaters available for screenings. However, the “damage” caused by the influence of these films was signifi­cant. Tirana was a city that had started to establish its identity as a preferred place to live. This was due to the fact that many foreigners had settled in the city. Not only Italians but also doctors, engineers, and teachers from Macedonia and Greece settled in Albania. Dr. Kristo Kristidhi, born in Bitola (Macedonia), after studying medicine in Austria, chose Tirana in the 1930s, between Thessaloniki and Tirana, for the opportunities it offered to practice his profession. Going to the cinema was also very important for him to learn from the kino-journals about what was happening in the world and the advancements of the Italian army in Abyssinia and else­where. The Disney film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs would arrive in Albania after being shown in Italy and would remain in the minds of the children who saw it in the cinema. In 1942, the film company “Tomorri” was established, which produced sev­eral documentary films. Mihallaq Mone, the first Albanian filmmaker, directed the film Takim në Liqen (Meeting at the Lake). It is a short film featuring actor Kristaq Antoniu and actress Merita Sokoli. This film is the first Albanian film produced by the “Tomorri” film company. Unfortu­nately, to this day, there is no copy of this film. A copy may have been taken by director Mone to the United States, or it might have been destroyed after 1944 by the communists when they came to power. Currently, there are only testimonies about this film and some photographs. It may have been intentionally destroyed or lost because Mone had previously directed a doc­umentary titled Bijtë e Shqipes (The Sons of the Eagle), which praised fascism. If director Mihallaq Mone had remained in Albania for this film, he would have been sentenced by the communists, just like many other in­tellectuals and entrepreneurs. In Sep­tember 1943, Italy capitulated, and its place was taken by Nazi troops.

The content of the newsreels in the cinemas that were still operating reg­ularly was replaced with German army newsreels from the frontlines of the war. The cinemas continued their work, but the Germans created the Albanian Cinema Owners’ Union. This was a movement to establish control over the films that were to be shown in Albanian territory. On No­vember 29, 1944, the last German army units left Albanian territory. Control of Albania was taken over by the National Liberation forces. In De­cember 1945, the Democratic Front, represented by the Communists, orga­nized elections, denying the opposi­tion participation in the vote. The people voted only for the candidates selected by the Democratic Front. Forty days later, on January 11, 1946, the People’s Republic of Albania was established with a one-party system, led by the Communist Party of Albania.

1946-1953, the beginnings of Al­banian cinematography.

After the Communist Party’s con­solidation of power, focused on estab­lishing dominance in every sector, including cinema. However, there was a lack of experts in the field. As part of the country’s reconstruction efforts, many Italians, including prisoners of war, engineers, topographers, and simple soldiers, were engaged. Due to the strong personal ties between Enver Hoxha and Stalin, many young people were sent to the Soviet Union for fur­ther training. In just a few years, the number of young people studying in socialist countries exceeded 3,000. Some of them went to Moscow to study cinematography and become specialists in the field.

In November 1944, the Photo-Cin­ematographic Service was established within the Ministry of Press, Propa­ganda, and Popular Culture of Albania. Less than three years later, the Albanian Cinematographic Enter­prise was founded¹³.

Endri Keko, a former partisan, along with a group of young people, traveled to Moscow in 1950. Among them was Xhanfise Çipi, who would later become Endri Keko’s wife and one of the best directors in Albanian cinema. This group was sent to Moscow to specialize in the produc­tion of newsreels. Endri Keko became a director, Xhanfise Çipi worked as a film editing director, Petraq Lubonja was a camera operator, Koço Tollko worked as a sound operator, and Mihal Çarka specialized in film labor­atory work. This group marked the first formation of professionals who would lay the foundations for what would later become Albanian cinema and the film industry. Initially, the newsreels were shot in Albania, and the processing and editing of the films took place in Moscow. Once edited, the newsreels were sent back to Albania and shown in cinemas in various cities. The propaganda appa­ratus was put into action to fill the visual vacuum. Radio and newspapers were the only means of communist propaganda after the liberation of the country. Now, this propaganda was being supplemented by a visual as­pect. The new Albanian state was investing with determination in this field, with the help of the Soviets. With Soviet assistance, the construc­tion of Albanian film studios was also financed. In 1952, the “New Albania” Kinostudio was inaugurated by Enver Hoxha himself. In 1951, the filming of “Skanderbeg”, directed by Sergey Jutkevič, had already begun. This was a major film production for Albania, which at that time only had a few ac­tors for the leading roles, with work­ers and locations such as Durrës, Petrelë, and Krujë. The film had a huge impact on strengthening national pride among Albanians. The film won two awards at the Cannes Film Festi­val in 1954. After 1960, following the breakdown of diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, the film was sporadically broadcast on Albanian state television until the early 1970s. It was later suppressed from domestic production. “Skanderbeg” began to be shown again in cinemas after the 1990s for a short period, and today it is one of the most watched films on YouTube, often commented on with great pride by viewers.The first news­reel produced at the Albanian Kinostudio was shown on the day of the studio’s inauguration. It was not yet an artistic film, but it was a film that was conceived, filmed, printed, and edited in Albania by Albanian authors. Kinozhurnal No. 1 was shown on July 10, 1952.

The film “Her Children” – the first Albanian film

Seven years after the inauguration of the facilities of the “New Albania” Kinostudio, Hysen Hakani, a student from Prague, decides to shoot his graduation film in Albania. The script was written in Prague in 1956. On the first page, it is stated that it is a subject and script prepared for the graduation film. Looking at the film today, the locations, actors, and the story make it a difficult film to shoot in Czechoslovakia. Educated with the spirit of Italian neorealism, Hakani could not modify it to shoot outside of Albania. Perhaps, for its time, a cou­rageous act, because the Kinostudio still did not have the human experi­ence and specialized departments to assist in the shooting of an artistic film. With the limited experience gained from shooting newsreels and working as the first assistant director on the film “Skanderbeg” by Soviet director Sergei Yutkeviç, director Viktor Stratobërdha, in addition to the two short documentaries he shot, also made several mini-films with educa­tional themes. For the first time, we see the staging of amateur actors who also have dialogue. They are directed by the camera and speak. However, there was a prevailing impression that Albania would never be able to pro­duce a truly 100% Albanian feature film.

The two directors before me and Hysen, V. Stratobërdha and G. Erebara, had an unfortunate fate, the former’s being completely tragic. After completing studies in Moscow, working as an assistant on the film “Skanderbeg,” directing two docu­mentaries, and creating a short news­reel with the demands of a true artistic film, after the infamous Party Confer­ence in Tirana in 1956, he was sen­tenced and permanently removed from the film industry¹⁴.

The history of Albanian cinema recognizes “Tana” (1958), directed by Kristaq Dhamo, as the first full-length Albanian film. It has a script, professional actors, and is considered a significant milestone in the coun­try’s cinematic history. On the other hand, “Fëmijët e saj” is only a short film, not a full feature. From a cine­matic perspective, Her Children marks a midpoint between the news­reels and documentaries that charac­terized the early films of communist Albania and the debut feature of Kinostudio¹⁵.

Yes, Fëmijët e saj can certainly be considered the first Albanian film, but it is true that it was overshadowed when the film Tana was made later. The reality depicted in Fëmijët e saj does not meet the standards of agit­prop cinema. The film presents a very naturalistic atmosphere compared to Tana, where the main character walks in white sandals with high heels on the muddy streets of a village. Director Hakani chooses to tell an educational story but does not attempt to polish or idealize the reality. The message in this fiction is somewhat similar to that of educational films from the 1920s, which focused on hygiene and disin­fection.

Synopsis of the film

The first shot is of the mountains in the north. Then we see a children’s garden in a meadow. Fatimeja, a peasant woman (played by Marie Logoreci), is holding a child in her arms who refuses to be vaccinated, causing him to cry. A man and a nurse stand by a table where vaccination materials are placed. When the nurse asks the woman if the child is hers, she lowers her head and tells her that she has no children. The teacher (Naim Frashëri) tells the nurse what has happened to the woman. There is a transition between the teacher’s portrait and a mountain shot.

Two small children, dressed in torn clothes, are standing at the threshold of a house. The older girl is feeding a younger one sitting on the ground. Suddenly, a woman appears, shouting, “The dog is mad!”. The woman quickly ushers the children into the house. Three villagers with sticks in hand are chasing after the dog. The dog runs after a small boy and bites him. The teacher comes to his aid and takes him home to his mother. He advises her to take him to a doctor, but at first, she refuses, thinking the doctor will amputate his hand. Eventually, she is convinced. She sets off with the boy on a donkey, and on the way, she meets another villager who advises her to take the boy to a woman who may be able to heal him through magic. The woman changes her mind and takes her son to the folk healer. At the healer’s house, who practices magic with smoke and words, the woman is convinced her son will be cured.

With a jump cut, we switch to the teacher, who is running and stopping a passing car. He pleads with the driver to take him to the city to see a doctor, as a child needs saving. At home, the woman is taking care of the boy, but when the doctor arrives, the child has passed away. The teacher is con­vinced the child was cured by a doc­tor, but the woman, upon hearing this, reveals the truth. She admits that she never took him to the doctor. She collapses on the ground, and once again, with a merging shot, we see the woman on the ground, but now she is playing with children. The teacher concludes the story by saying that thirteen years have passed since that time. Since then, the woman has taken care of the children in the kindergar­ten and calls them her own.

Told in this way, the story is quite naive, and in general, the events un­fold as if commanded by the script. From the beginning, the villagers chasing the dog seem as though they are after and want to kill some kind of lion or tiger. Their goal is reinforced by the teacher’s words to chase and kill the dog, claiming he will take care of the child. The idea of a rabid dog causing death had a strong impact on the Albanian audience. Even many years after the film was released, par­ents would advise their children to stay away from stray dogs, fearing that they might be rabid. Similarly, children would discuss rabid dogs among themselves, even though they had never seen the film. Until the late 1990s, the relationship of Albanians with dogs and other animals, in gen­eral, was not very friendly, largely due to the influence of this film. The film was met with great enthusiasm when it was re-shown in 1995. It was re-released to remind people of it, as it had been forgotten during the years of communism. At the time the film was produced, there was still no well-es­tablished censorship structure. Alt­hough it was a production of the Kinostudio “Shqipëria e Re,” it was a film whose script did not go through the usual artistic councils and reviews, because it was a diploma film. Eriona Vyshka, an Archive Specialist at the AQSHF, explains that there is no offi­cial report for this film, only a script and four photos from the film. How­ever, Vyshka says that this film has three important elements: first, the transition from documentary to artistic fiction film; second, the acting per­formance, transitioning from theater interpretation to camera interpretation; and third, it is a film produced at the beginnings of the Albanian film in­dustry, with a 100% Albanian contri­bution. Therefore, it was produced independently from studios or labor­atories in Moscow. The investment in building the Kinostudio was based on creating a new propaganda apparatus and did not take into account that this industry could also produce artistic films. Director Hakani’s “experiment” opened a new door for the production of long artistic films. A year later, “Tana,” directed by Kristaq Dhamo, would lay the foundation for the be­ginning of Albanian film production. A few years later, in 1961, Director Hysen Hakani, along with Director Gëzim Erebara, would produce the film Debatik, a film centered on the theme of war. If you didn’t know it was Hakani’s second film, you might easily think it was produced by an Italian or Soviet neorealist director. The Albanian audience was eager to go to the cinema, especially when it came to a film in the Albanian lan­guage. This was also thanks to the publicity given by newspapers and radio stations, which highlighted the achievements of Kinostudio “Shqipëria e re” as part of the suc­cesses being accomplished under the leadership of the Communist Party, later known as the Party of Labour of Albania.

The illiteracy that existed in 90% of the population at the time of the end of World War II made films in the Albanian language even more acces­sible and beloved by the audience. Thus, being the only spiritual nour­ishment, this type of production, sup­ported by the propaganda of the time, became the sole and best food for the people. In the early 1970s, the output of Kinostudio would increase to 14 artistic films per year, along with an equal number of documentary films and animated films, a production that lasted until the end of the 1990s. After the 4th Plenary on culture and arts, influenced also by the Chinese Cul­tural Revolution, most foreign film screenings were stoped, and thus the Albanian audience was forced to watch and re-watch only Albanian films. Films like Fëmijët e saj and Tana lost their shine as film produc­tion grew and became more artisti­cally and historically refined, although it operated within the ideological and aesthetic constraints of Socialist Re­alism. The directors of these films succeeded in creating high-quality art. Despite the presence of propaganda and schematism, a “handful” of films managed to become so beloved by the Albanian public that they are still watched today with great nostalgia.

Notes

• T. Hoxha, Fillimet e kinemasë në Trevat Shqiptare, Berk, Tiranë, 2023, p. 11.
• Elsie, Historical Dictionary of Albania: Second Edition Historical Dictionaries of Europe, No. 75, Scarecrow Press, Lanham, 2010.
• Williams, Albanian Cinema through the Fall of Communism: Silver Screens and Red Flags, Amsterdam University Press, 2023, p. 48.
• Tutui, Orient Express: The Romanian and Balkan Cinema, Noi Media Print, București, 2011, p. 112.
• Idem, The Visual Heritage of Manakia Bros in the Balkan Countries, Noi Media Print, București, 2017, p. 1.
• Williams, Albanian Cinema through the Fall of Communism: Silver Screens and Red Flags, Amsterdam University Press, 2023, p. 49.
• T. Hoxha, Fillimet e kinemasë në Trevat Shqiptare, Berk, Tiranë, 2023, p. 59.
• Shmidt, K. Kasser, A Critical History of Health Films in Central and Eastern Europe and Beyond, Routledge, Abingdon-on-Thames, 2024, p. 211.
• A. Cook, R. Sklar, (n.d.). https://www.britannica.com/art/history-of-film/The-Soviet-Union, 1910.
• T. Hoxha, Fillimet e kinemasë në Trevat Shqiptare, Berk, Tiranë, 2023, p. 69.
• Rendina, (n.d.). https://www.europeana.eu/en/exhibitions/mass-media-and-propaganda-in-20th-century-europe/the-dawn-of-propaganda-in-cinema.
• A. Barbieri, https://www.cinematografo.it/film/il-cavaliere-di-kruja-jm61yb8q, 1940.
• Keko, https://aqshf.gov.al/3d-flip-book/endri-keko-ditari/, Muza Printing, Tiranë, 2024, p.101.
• Dhamo, Memories, Tirana, 2020.
• Williams, Albanian Cinema through the Fall of Communism: Silver Screens and Red Flags, Amsterdam University Press, 2023, p. 100.

Bibliography

Books

DHAMO, K., Memories, Tirana, 2020.

Articles and studies

ELSIE, R., Historical Dictionary of Albania: Second Edition Historical Dictionaries of Europe,

2010. 75, Scarecrow Press, Lanham, 2010.

HOXHA, A. T., Fillimet e kinemasë në Trevat Shqiptare, Berk, Tiranë, 2023.

SHMIDT, V., KASSER. K., A Critical History of Health Films in Central and Eastern Europe

and Beyond, Routledge, Abingdon-on-Thames, 2024.

TUTUI, M., Orient Express: The Romanian and Balkan Cinema, Noi Media Print, București, 2011.

IDEM., The Visual Heritage of Manakia Bros in the Balkan Countries, Noi Media Print, București, 2017.

WILLIAMS, B., Albanian Cinema through the Fall of Communism: Silver Screens and Red Flags, Amsterdam University Press, 2023.

Online resources

BARBIERI, A. A., https://www.cinematografo.it/film/il-cavaliere-di-kruja-jm61yb8q, 1940.

COOK, D. A., SKLAR, R., (n.d.) https://www.britannica.com/art/history-of-film/The-Soviet-Union , 1910.

KEKO, E., https://aqshf.gov.al/3d-flip-book/endri-keko-ditari/, Muza Printing, Tiranë, 2024.

RENDINA, M., (n.d.), https://www.europeana.eu/en/exhibitions/mass-media-and-propaganda-in-20th-century-europe/the-dawn-of-propaganda-in-cinema.