The Albanian

The Albanian
Directed by	Johannes Naber
Written by	Johannes Naber
Produced by	Boris Schönfelder Dritan Huqi
Starring	Nik Xhelilaj Xhejlane Tërbunja Ivan Shvedoff Amos Zaharia Stipe Erceg Çun Lajçi Yllka Mujo André Hennicke
Cinematography	Sten Mende
Edited by	Ben Von Grafenstein
Music by	Oliver Biehler
Distributed by	Arte Neue Schönhauser Filmproduktion On Film Production Südwestrundfunk (SWR)
Release dates	June 23, 2010 (2010-06-23) (Moscow) June 28, 2010 (2010-06-28) (Germany) October 30, 2010 (2010-10-30) (Albania)
Running time	105 minutes
Countries	Albania Germany
Languages	Albanian German

The Albanian (German: Der Albaner, Albanian: Shqiptari) is a 2010 German-Albanian drama film directed by Johannes Naber and starring the Albanian actor Nik Xhelilaj.

Plot

For the sake of love and the situations imposed by the life in his country, Arben emigrates to Germany. An illegal emigration, in search of money, a subtle condition to protect his love; an adventure that unintentionally confronts him with the unmerciful world of crime.[1]

Cast

• Nik Xhelilaj as Arben Shehu
• Xhejlane Tërbunja as Etleva Petriti
• Ivan Shvedoff as Slatko
• Amos Zaharia as Ilir Shehu
• Stipe Erceg as Damir
• Eva Löbau as Nicola
• Çun Lajçi as Arben's father
• Luan Jaha as Arben's uncle
• Yllka Mujo as Etleva's mother
• Guljelm Radoja as Etleva's father
• Bruno Shllaku as Sali
• Julian Deda as Florenç
• Besmir Halitaj as Taulant
• Ledio Janushi as Skerdi
• Elton Lomthi as Artan
• Hazir Hazir as Edon
• André Hennicke as the pharmacist

Awards and competition

Within a short screening period, the film won several awards. The leading actor Nik Xhelilaj earned three Best Leading Actor awards in three different film festivals.[1]

Awards won

• Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis 2011[2]
  • Best Film / Max-Ophüls-Preis
• Cinéma Tous Ecrans - Geneva international Film Festival 2010[3]
  • Best Film "Reflet d'Or" (Ex aequo)
  • Public Award for Best long feature film
• 32nd Moscow International Film Festival[4]
  • Special Jury Prize "Silver George"[5][6]
  • Best Actor Prize "Silver George" for Nik Xhelilaj[5][6]
• Bergen International Film Festival 2010
  • Special Jury Mention[7]
• PriFilmFest - Prishtina International Film Festival 2010[8]
  • Special Jury Award for the film
  • "Golden Goddess" Best Actor Award for Nik Xhelilaj
• 47th Antalya "Golden Orange" International Film Festival
  • Best Actor Award for Nik Xhelilaj in the International Feature Competition[9]

The film has also competed in other film festivals such as the 45th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, 15th Busan International Film Festival and 22nd Palm Springs International Film Festival.[10]

References

1. Gazeta Albania - Filmi "Shqiptari" pushton Festivalin e Gjenevës (in Albanian) | November 9, 2010
2. Max Ophüls Preis, 17.-23. January 2011 Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine
3. CINEMA TOUS ECRANS, 1–7 November 2010
4. Martin Blaney German double triumph in Moscow June 29, 2010
5. The 32 Moscow International Film Festival awards Archived 2010-08-31 at the Wayback Machine
6. German films - Rome 2010, Der Albaner (The Albanian), page 13 Archived 2010-11-23 at the Wayback Machine
7. Shqiptari vleresohet ne Norvegji e Gjeneve (in Albanian)
8. "PRIFILMFEST Prishtina International Film Festival 22–29 September 2010". Archived from the original on 2012-05-18. Retrieved 2010-11-18.
9. 47th Antalya "Golden Orange" International Film Festival — International Feature Competition Archived 2010-11-03 at the Wayback Machine
10. Film archive: Der Albaner^[permanent dead link‍]

External links

• Der Albaner at IMDb