Kujtim Çashku
Encyclopedia
Kujtim Çashku is an Albania
n film director and screenwriter who has won numerous awards at international film festivals, including the Critics Prize at the 1996 Bastia
Mediterranean Film Festival and the UNESCO
Award at the 1998 Venice Film Festival
for Colonel Bunker, the Best Screenplay Award, the FIRESCI Prize and the Silver Pyramid at the 2005 Cairo International Film Festival
as well as the Bronze Palm at the Valencia Festival of Mediterranean Cinema for The Magic Eye, and the CEI Award at the Trieste
Film Festival for his "brave commitment to the development of Albanian cinema". He is the founder and director of Tirana
's Marubi Film & Multimedia School
, the first film university in Albania, as well as the supervisor of OraFilm, Albania's first film production company, and founder-organizer of Albania's first Human Rights Film Festival
(IHRFFA).
and started in the filmmaking profession in 1975, working as an assistant director. During the succeeding years, as his career took him to France
, Poland
and Germany
, he became, in the process, Albania's internationally best-known cinema personality for directing the 1989 romantic drama Ballad of Kurbin as well as for writing and directing the 1996 political drama Colonel Bunker, which became the official Albanian submission for the Academy Awards and won international prizes, including the 1998 prestigious CIFT ETC Enrico Fulghinoni in Venice
. His most publicized international success came with the 2005 road movie
, Magic Eye, which won 9 international awards, including FIPRESCI 2005, "Silver Pyramid" for Best Screen Play and Best Actor at the 2005 Cairo International Film Festival, "Bronze Palm" for Best Cinematography and Best Music at 2006 Mostra Valencia, as well as CEI Award and Third Best Film Audience Award at 2007 Trieste
International Film Festival.
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
n film director and screenwriter who has won numerous awards at international film festivals, including the Critics Prize at the 1996 Bastia
Bastia
Bastia is a commune in the Haute-Corse department of France located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It is also the second-largest city in Corsica after Ajaccio and the capital of the department....
Mediterranean Film Festival and the UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
Award at the 1998 Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
for Colonel Bunker, the Best Screenplay Award, the FIRESCI Prize and the Silver Pyramid at the 2005 Cairo International Film Festival
Cairo International Film Festival
The Cairo International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Cairo, Egypt. It was established in 1976 and was the first international film festival held in the Arab world...
as well as the Bronze Palm at the Valencia Festival of Mediterranean Cinema for The Magic Eye, and the CEI Award at the Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
Film Festival for his "brave commitment to the development of Albanian cinema". He is the founder and director of Tirana
Tirana
Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...
's Marubi Film & Multimedia School
Marubi film school
Academy of Film & Multimedia Marubi is the first private university for film and television education, formation and training in the Republic of Albania...
, the first film university in Albania, as well as the supervisor of OraFilm, Albania's first film production company, and founder-organizer of Albania's first Human Rights Film Festival
Human Rights Film Festival
Human Rights Film Festival is an annually-held Zagreb-based film festival founded in 2003. The festival is run by two prominent Croatian independent cultural organizations - the Multimedia Institute and Culture Development Association ....
(IHRFFA).
Career as filmmaker and educator
A native of Tirana, Kujtim Çashku studied at the city's Higher Institute of Arts as well as at Institute of Theater and Film Art in BucharestBucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
and started in the filmmaking profession in 1975, working as an assistant director. During the succeeding years, as his career took him to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, he became, in the process, Albania's internationally best-known cinema personality for directing the 1989 romantic drama Ballad of Kurbin as well as for writing and directing the 1996 political drama Colonel Bunker, which became the official Albanian submission for the Academy Awards and won international prizes, including the 1998 prestigious CIFT ETC Enrico Fulghinoni in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. His most publicized international success came with the 2005 road movie
Road movie
A road movie is a film genre in which the main character or characters leave home to travel from place to place. They usually leave home to escape their current lives.-History:...
, Magic Eye, which won 9 international awards, including FIPRESCI 2005, "Silver Pyramid" for Best Screen Play and Best Actor at the 2005 Cairo International Film Festival, "Bronze Palm" for Best Cinematography and Best Music at 2006 Mostra Valencia, as well as CEI Award and Third Best Film Audience Award at 2007 Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
International Film Festival.
Filmography
- 1976 Pranverë në zemrat tona [Spring in Our Hearts] (documentary)
- 1977 Ata ishin katër [They Were Only Four] with Esat Musliu
- 1979 Ballë për ballë [Face to Face] with Piro Milkani
- 1980 Pas vdekjes [After Death]
- 1982 Shokët [Comrades]
- 1983 Dora e ngrohtë [A Man's Handshake]
- 1985 Të paftuarit [The Uninvited] based on the writings of Ismail KadareIsmail KadareIsmail Kadare is an Albanian writer. He is known for his novels, although he was first noticed for his poetry collections. In the 1960s he focused on short stories until the publication of his first novel, The General of the Dead Army. In 1996 he became a lifetime member of the Academy of Moral...
- 1987 Vrasje ne gjueti [Killing During a Hunt]
- 1989 Balada e Kurbinit [Ballad of Kurbin]
- 1996 Koloneli Bunker [Colonel Bunker]
- 2004 Syri magjik [The Magic Eye]
Screenplays
- 1996 Koloneli Bunker [Colonel Bunker]
- 2003 Equinox
- 2004 Syri magjik [The Magic Eye]