Speech of Prime Minister Edi Rama after the screening at COD of the Oscar nominee “Shok”:
In occasions like these, the protocol requires some cliché phrases. And given that the cliché phrases have been widely used, it is sometimes difficult for the public to understand when the time and place are right to speak words full of emotions that only a movie or a work like this can convey. But I want to express my gratitude to you for being here, and for giving me this opportunity. I have the privilege to be among the first viewers of this movie, and I very much hope that every Albanian will watch it as well. Because this is not just another movie, but it is a movie that keeps you stuck in suspense in front of the screen as never before.
Although I have been trained with speeches and the control of emotions, yet, I assure you that it is tough to manage emotions in this occasion and not to feel overwhelmed by the movie. Moreover, the film relates to an experience so vital, such as the experience of all those who suffered the barbarity that is described in the movie through an event that, as far as I understood, concerns you personally. This facts increases the emotional charge for us as Albanians, because movies with real events, events that are really overwhelming, when they do not affect us directly, we look at them at a certain distance and experience them from an aesthetic point of view, or are affected emotionally when we relate them to our events or our own experiences.
This is an authentic case, and this movie is extraordinarily authentic. I am very impressed by the strength of simplicity of this movie beyond its plot. It is not easy to make a simple movie and convey so much in a short time. A very thin line divides the expression of artistic talent, which we have the opportunity to see and touch through many academic essays and talented students, from a whole work of art that is like a stone that is added to the wall of the history of the Albanian cinematography.
I am convinced that I am not exaggerating, and I was very curious to come and see the movie for two reasons. First, because it is an Albanian Oscar nominee movie, and this is in itself a very strong impetus, though not necessarily, what is nominated for an Oscar does not have the same value. Second, because I am really interested in cinematography in general and the in the progress of cinema in Kosovo in particular, because the cinema in Kosovo has some features that are specific, perhaps because it has not gone through the long phase of the socialist realism in the same way, also because cinematography across the border was given some more room, and because in Kosovo, the possibility of making cinema was still very limited before. But both of these together, a tradition much more liberated from the iron framework of the socialist realism, and the possibility of regaining or gaining freedom, have created a pretty productive space.
I want to thank you sincerely for the trip you made to come here. I would be very happy if this small event would serve to promote the movie, taking into account the country and the opportunity to promote it by means of my modest media, with almost 1 million followers on Facebook. It is really a movie that leaves you breathless and speechless, although I found, I believe, the words to express my emotion and gratitude for you.
My heartfelt best wishes for you. It would be beautiful if you won the Oscar, but even if you don’t, keep pedalling the bike of your short movie and go ahead doing other films. At the end, nothing bad has occurred to Woody Allen, who has refused every award and hasn’t attended any of the Oscar’s ceremonies. For the sake of our modest history, it would be good to have that Oscar, but even if we don’t, your movie is part of this story and I am convinced that it is a very precious part of this history.
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“Shok”, an Oscar-nominated short movie, a Kosovo-United Kingdom coproduction, conveyed very strong emotions tonight at COD in the Prime Minister’s Office.
Producers say the movie is based on real events occurred during the war in Kosovo. It was realized in November 2014 in Shale of Bajgore, and the events are told through the eyes of two children, in their journey of suffering and barbarities.
“Shok” has been nominated for an Oscar for the category “Best short movies”, and is the first Albanian film nominated for this prestigious award.
Eshref Durmishi, producer and at the same time one of the actors in the movie, said that this movie was realized to show the world what happened to us. “It is better that this story is told by us rather than by others,” he said.
