At the turn of the new millennium, eleven-year-old Lis lives with his displaced family in a cramped apartment, still shattered by the Kosovo war and by the disappearance of his father. Carrying a painful secret he cannot share, even with those closest to him, Lis longs to escape the silence and grief that have settled over his home. When he encounters three French clowns traveling through Kosovo to bring laughter to children among the ruins, he joins their caravan, hoping the road, their performances, and the promise of joy might help him outrun his memories. But as the journey carries him deeper into a wounded country, Lis discovers that distance, disguise, and laughter cannot bury the truth inside him. To heal, he must find the courage to face the wound he has been hiding, and allow himself to be seen by the people who love him.
Zgjim Terziqi is a writer-director from Kosovo. He holds a BA and an MA in Film and Television Directing from the University of Prishtina.
His short films A Month and Salon have screened at more than 100 international film festivals, including Cairo IFF, Atlanta Film Festival, Torino Film Festival, Winterthur, Busan, Brussels, New Directors/New Films, TIFF, HollyShorts, Dokufest, and Rhode Island, among others.
His debut feature, The Odyssey of Joy, premiered six months ago and has already won four awards and been selected for twenty international festivals, including two A-list festivals. He is an alumnus of Berlinale Talents Script Station and Torino Film Lab.
Zgjim was a film and drama teacher at the American School of Kosova in 2017. He has also written more than 200 television episodes. In addition to his directing work, he served on the selection committee for the International Short Competition at Dokufest International Documentary and Short Film Festival from 2021 to 2024.
He’s currently developing his next feature script “Incognito”.
| Director | Zgjim Terziqi |
| Duration | 99 min |
| Language | OV Albanian, English, French | German, English |
| Genre | Drama |
| Cast | Diar Sadiku, Lucie Fagedet, Frédéric Radepont, Iñaki Lartigue |
| Country | Kosovo, France |
| Year | 2025 |
| Distributor | Plan Bee Films |
PROGR
Atelier 260.1
Waisenhauspl. 30
3011 Bern
Switzerland
info@kinokosova.com