Short Film Block I
Short Film Block I
Fri 15 5 | 16:10 Riffraff Kino
Fri 15 5 | 16:10 Riffraff Kino
A family of four must live an everyday life while the world around them shatters during the armed conflict 2001. While the bombing is ongoing the parents are in a dilemma, protecting and sheltering their children inside their home or allowing them to play outside and have a childhood, while they’re still young enough to be shielded by their innocence and ignorance.
Whatever may happen, summer can not stop its flow. As the watermelons grow ripe, the tobacco leaves dry and turn to gold, colonies of ants gather their food, the clock never stops ticking, and the bombs continue to fall around the mountain of Ljuboten.
Flaka Kokolli is a Kosovar animator and filmmaker. She received her animation BA from Metropolitan University Budapest and has been active since 2013 with Anibar (International Animation Festival). In 2020, she established the studio Flammorum in Prishtina and co-founded Studio Pink-I. Her films Mardhe and Shpija screened internationally and won awards at DokuFest, Anibar, Tirana Film Festival, and earned a spot at Cannes’ Short Film Corner via ANNY: Animation Nights New York.
| Director | Flaka Kokolli |
| Duration | 10 min |
| Language | OV Albanian | German, English |
| Genre | Documentary/ Short |
| Country | Kosovo, North Macedonia |
| Year | 2024 |
| Distributor | Pentacle |
Twenty-five years after his abduction during the Kosovo War, painter Skender Muja recounts a story of extraordinary survival. In the tumultuous final months of the war, Muja and numerous Albanian citizens from Mitrovica were captured while fleeing Kosovo. Detained in a repurposed school-turned-detention center, they faced fear, confinement, and an uncertain fate.
Narrated by Muja, the film blends his reflections on the transformative power of art with reenactments of his experience. I Believe the Portrait Saved Me is a testament to resilience, illustrating how creativity can emerge as a tool of survival even in the most oppressive conditions.
Alban Muja (b. 1980, Mitrovica) is a Kosovan contemporary artist and filmmaker based between Berlin and Prishtina. His practice is deeply shaped by the social, political, and economic transformations of the region, examining the intersections between personal narratives and collective memory.
In 2019, Muja represented the Republic of Kosovo at the 58th Venice Biennale with Family Album, a three-channel moving-image installation.
His latest film, Mua besoj më shpëtoi portreti (I Believe the Portrait Saved Me), has been screened internationally at major festivals, including its world premiere at the 75th Berlinale – Forum Expanded in Berlin, Germany.
| Director | Alban Muja |
| Duration | 10 min |
| Language | OV Albanian | English |
| Genre | Short, Documentary |
| Country | Kosovo |
| Year | 2025 |
| Distributor | Film Director |
Based on a true story, the filmmaker and his son (Miron 13) collaborate on a script that weaves their personal experiences with broader concerns about their country.They are on their way to the airport to receive a gift sent from abroad by the son's godfather. Amid bureaucratic obstacles, with little or no hope for real political and social changes, this brief journey evolves into a profound exploration of their bond against the backdrop of societal challenges and the uncertainty looming over their future.
Samir Karahoda is a Kosovo-based photographer, filmmaker, and cinematographer known for exploring Kosovo’s social and political realities. He holds a BA and MFA in Photography from Mimar Sinan University, Istanbul, and has curated DokuFest’s short film program for over 20 years. His debut In Between premiered at Berlinale 2019. Displaced (2021) won awards at Cannes, TIFF, and Sundance. On the Way (Rrugës) was selected for Cannes 2024 and TIFF. He joined the European Film Academy in 2021.
| Director | Samir Karahoda |
| Duration | 15 min |
| Language | OV Albanian | German, English |
| Genre | Drama, Short |
| Country | Kosovo |
| Year | 2024 |
| Distributor | Radiator IP Sales |
At a remote train station, 30-year-old Drin lives a solitary, routine life, recording trains and finding connection with his online girlfriend. But when his job is suddenly replaced by a radar, Drin finds himself spiralling into an existential crisis. Lost and out of place, he’s forced to confront what he truly wants in life.
Anita Morina is a Kosovar-Croatian writer, director, and producer. After completing her Master’s in Film and Television Production in Cambridge, UK, she had her start in television before moving into the film industry. In the same year, she premiered her two shorts, One Woman Film and SOS, the latter winning Best National Film, and is currently developing her first feature, Lucky Us. In 2021, she founded Little House, where she has since produced award-winning fiction and animation. She is also developing projects at Filmik Institue, an independent film hub in Kosovo.
| Director | Anita Morina |
| Duration | 15 min |
| Language | OV Albanian | English |
| Genre | Short, Documentary |
| Country | Kosovo |
| Year | 2025 |
| Distributor | Little House |
Milazim, Fatmir and Liridon are manual labourers injured at work. What comes after?
How do they feel? What are their hopes? What does the future hold for them?
Every line on their faces is sculpted by life itself.
In contrast, a system filled with danger and injustice looms overhead.
Ilir Hasanaj is a filmmaker with roots in both Kosovo and Switzerland, embodying a unique blend of cultural influences. He honed his craft with a degree in Film from the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and has since created documentaries that resonate globally.
Recently, Ilir's film "Workers' Wings" earned him the prestigious Tiger Short Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2024.
| Director | Ilir Hasanaj |
| Duration | 19 min |
| Language | OV Albanian | German, English |
| Genre | Documentary/ Short |
| Country | Kosovo |
| Year | 2024 |
| Distributor | Film Director |
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