What? What is this? This is madness!!
This is an experimental docu-fiction project about the current social situation (especially of young people) in Albania. Yes, that’s a country!
It is a collaboration of people from France, Italy, Albania and Luxembourg, (that’s a country too).
We will be on the road for 21 days, exploring Albania’s culture and political history, visiting the culturally, historically, or politically significant cities to show how this small nation has evolved into what it is now. From high mountains to deep underground bunkers, from calm, warm seaside to the large, impressive ports and deserted industrial cities…
First inspiration?! The book
Why? (
Pse?) by Albanian writer Sterjo Spasse, describing the pessimistic views on life of a young man in the rural Albania of the 1930’s.
From there on, Borin has written a short surrealist story, First Interlude, about a young couple stuck in an unpredictable, unescapable, and chaotic city that changes its form every day. A place where past & present meet.
Borin collaborated with Ewen in deconstructing the story and expanding it into an experimental narrative film influenced by Robert Kramer (
Route One USA; Berlin 10/90), Jean Rouch (
Moi, un noir; Chronique d'un été), Chris Marker (
Le Jolie Mai) and Raymond Depardon (
San Clemente), among others…
The idea of (or the need for) escape is the main focus of the
film. We will look into the massive emigration the country has experienced
since the end of communism. We are talking about 1/4 of the population that has
emigrated in less than 25 years. The reason behind this seems to be the fear of
inherited poverty! This develops a form of
social pessimism, which in turn creates despair. Despair and depression, if
left unattended, could soon become fatal to society.
In the spirit of
Man bites dog (
C'est arrivé près de chez vous), the crew will become involved in the story, taking part in it. There is no 4th wall!
Why experimental?
We want to determine whether the cinematic language (le language
cinématographique) is still the same more than a century after the
invention of “cinema”. Is the Kuleshov Effect as powerful as it was in the
1920’s? Is it still up to date, in our day and age, where the image has become
saturated through Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, Blogs… and most importantly Snapchat
and selfies? The true reflection on
how we see images today! We see something, respond to it in the moment, and then
it is forever erased from our memories, both virtual and physical.
Quoting Benjamin (who in turn quotes Lichtwark):
"In our age there is no work of art that is looked at so
closely as a photograph of oneself, one's closest relatives and friends, one's
sweetheart," wrote Lichtwark back in 1907, thereby moving the inquiry out
of the realm of aesthetic distinctions into that of social functions. - Little History of Photography, Walter
Benjamin, 1931
What does Albania have to do with all this? Well, it is a country
that has a rich and ancient culture. A country with deep social divisions and
economical problems, a complicated past and very poignant images; these
factors accurately indicate the evolution of the art itself and the importance
given to these images by globalized modern societies.
Who are we?
Writer & Director
Borin’ Shehu – Currently working on a Masters Degree in Arts & Digital Technologies (Arts et Technologies Numérique) at the University of Rennes, France and doing a BTS Cinema & Audiovisual (Brevet de Technicien Supérieur) in Luxembourg.
Co-Writer & DOP
Ewen Tinevez – Graduated of Film Esthetics and Film Theory at the University of Rennes, France
Sound Engineer
Theo Poussard – Graduated from ESRA Professional Film School (École Supérieure de Réalisation Audiovisuelle), Rennes FranceAsst.
Camera & Asst. Production
Charel Cathrein – Graduate of Philosophy at the University of Tübingen (Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen), Germany. Currently doing a BTS Cinema & Audiovisual (Brevet de Technicien Supérieur)
1st AD & Production Advisor
Yasin Özen – Master Graduate of Philosophy from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, working as AD in Luxembourg, 7 years of experience in producing independent films, board member of Feierblumm Productions a.s.b.l., and also a very cool guy.
Boom Operator
Lorenz Navarra –
Graduated from the University of Milan. Yes. He is in! This crew is looking
great.
PERK. PERKS. PERKING. PERK UP. Check it out! Check it out! Check it out!
You’re getting a lot of benefits by helping us. Downloads of the film. DVD’s. Posters. 35mm Pictures. A Super8 Camera…
And T-Shirts. Yes! With the films logo on it! What?! You want a T-Shirt but you don’t like the film-t-shirts design? We have something BETTER! A T-Shirt with images of CATS IN SPACE! Yeaaaah!
AND MORE... Help us out by sharing our campaign on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Blogs… Wherever you can! We really appreciate anything you can do! We need all the help we can get.
We’re offering a ton of great rewards, and if you have any questions you are welcome to message us here. Or add us on Facebook.