Eighth Edition of the DEA OPEN AIR International Film Festival
Tirana, Albania – 2021
The Eighth Edition of the DEA OPEN AIR International Film Festival concluded successfully with a gala evening, reaffirming itself as a festival of absolute and national premieres, distinguished guests, and public participation.
“The time in which we gather is a TIME OF CHALLENGES,” declared the festival’s Artistic Director, Mirela Oktrova, in her opening remarks at the final evening of the festival. From Friday, October 15, to Tuesday, October 19, a broad geography of productions and filmmakers reconnected with audiences after a difficult pandemic period.
“In our tradition, this awards ceremony is also a medium for speaking about cinema — about what delights us, touches us, or pains us most when we talk about it. Yet once again we have gathered differently — simply to resist, to resist and survive… The edition we have just concluded, as well as this entire organization, seeks cultural resistance under conditions of limitation — therefore we gather without luxury or pomp, but simply with our signs of identification with cinema; without our friends and artists from around the world, since most of them still fear being physically present. Fortunately, however, we have our audience, our friends, and the collaborators of the festival, with whom we will continue insisting on keeping this tradition alive and developing it further,” Oktrova added.
Festival Director Edmond Topi emphasized the importance of supporting cinema, stating that “what unites us is the love for cinema, which in the long term concerns the human spirit. The more cinema, the more theatre, the more culture this country has, the fewer criminals we will have in the streets, the less theft, the less corruption. Each of us must do more for cinema, because this is an investment in society.”
Producer and journalist Edi Mazi, who also chaired the Documentary Film Jury, praised both the documentary competition and the overall quality of the festival. Upon announcing the DEA Award for Best Documentary, he stated that any doubts regarding the documentary section had been overcome, describing the festival as exemplary in terms of participation, presentation, organization, and the overall execution of the event.
The festival’s central award, the DEA Award for Best Feature Film, went to Georgia for “Brighton 4” by director Levan Koguashvili, while the remaining fourteen awards reflected a broad geographical diversity, extending from Italy to Mexico, from Albania to Russia, from Kosovo to France, and beyond.
The Tirana Audience Awards were presented to “Survival and School” by Kosovar director Ilir Kabashi and “Inane” by Albanian director Besnik Bisha.
The DEA Recognition Award was dedicated this year to director Gjergj Xhuvani, while DEA HOMAGE honored writer and filmmaker Petrit Ruka for his remarkable literary and cinematic legacy.
“To be deprived of cinema means to be deprived of the possibility of living within history… That is why we are here today — insisting on promoting and defending cinema despite the pandemic, which still has not released its grip on the world. It is a challenge that continues, for a time whose end we still cannot foresee,” concluded Artistic Director Mirela Oktrova at the closing of the festival.
Although unable to attend physically, winning artists from Mexico, Russia, Italy, and Georgia participated through video messages. During the Gala Awards Night, the mobile company One also organized a prize draw, awarding three audience members with mobile phones.
The Feature Film Jury, composed of Peter Dirmeier, More Raça, Refet Abazi, Ivan D’Ambrosio, and Abaz Hado, awarded the following prizes:
DEA Cup for Best Actor/Actress in a Feature Film: Anila Bisha (Sana) and Neritan Liçaj (Gori) for “Inane” – Albania.
DEA Cup for Best Cinematography in a Feature Film: Phedon Papamichael for “Brighton 4” – Georgia.
DEA Cup for Best Screenplay in a Feature Film: Irina Mariychuk-Lukinova for “Rabbit’s Paw” – Russian Federation.
DEA Cup for Best Director in a Feature Film: Paolo Zucca for “The Man Who Bought the Moon” – Italy.
DEA Cup for Best Feature Film: “Brighton 4” by Levan Koguashvili – Georgia.
The Documentary Film Jury, composed of Eduard Mazi, Rezarta Delisula, and Ferdinand Dervishi, awarded the DEA Cup for Best Documentary to “When Love Becomes Taboo” by Demian Saldana – Mexico, 2021.
The Short Film Jury, composed of Jonid Jorgji, Klajd Papadhimitri, and Lorik Bakiu, awarded the following prizes:
DEA Cup for Best Student Film: “The Clown” by Vladimir Feklenko – Russian Federation, 2020.
DEA Cup for Best Short Film: “Claude” by Giuseppe Marco Albano – Italy, 2020.
The Media Jury, composed of journalists Fatmira Nikolli, Bieta Sulo, and Abaz Krasniqi, awarded the following prizes:
Media Award – Short Film: “My Hidden War” by Kevin R. Phipps – United States, 2019.
Media Award – Feature Film: “Rabbit’s Paw” by Nana Jorjadze – Russian Federation, 2020.
This year, the Audience Award was presented in two categories:
Audience Award – Documentary Film: “Survival and School” by Ilir Kabashi – Kosovo, 2021.
Audience Award – Feature Film: “Inane” by Besnik Bisha – Albania, 2020.
The Festival’s Special Award bearing the name of cinematographer Leonard Qëndro was awarded to “Pipo and Blind Love” by Hugo Le Gourrierec – France, 2020.
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