Writing, shooting, and editing six films in three weeks: that's the challenge taken on by the students of the ECAL/HEAD Cinema Master's program during their study trip to Prizren, Kosovo, in the fall of 2022. An artistic and human immersion into the reality of a young and dynamic country which has distinguished itself in recent years by its remarkable cinematographic and artistic development.
The workshop was led by Kaltrina Krasniqi, a Kosovar director and screenwriter, and supported by the team of DokuFest - International Documentary and Short Film Festival in Prizren, Kosovo, who ensured its production.
Kaltrina Krasniqi (1981) is an award winning Kosovo based film director and researcher working in film and digital humanities since early 2000s. She is a founding member of Kosovo Oral History Initiative - a digital archive where personal histories of individuals from various paths of life are recorded and published; a co-founder of Dit! e Nat! - a non formal setting for promotion of film, literature and music; and a founder of Vera Films, a film production company focused in young voices of cinema. She graduated in Film Directing in the University of Prishtina in 2004 and in 2011 completed her MA in Kosovo!s Institute for Journalism and Communication. In 2015 she continued her professional development in the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with focus in Film Producing. Her debut feature film "Vera Dreams of the Sea” premiered in the 78th Venice Film Festival and among many accolades was awarded Tokyo International Film Festival Grand Prix 2021 and Ingmar Bergman Award at Gothenburg Film Festival 2022. Currently she is in development of her second feature "Bleach".
DokuFest, an international documentary and short film festival, is the largest film festival in Kosovo. Since 2019, it has earned the esteemed status of a BAFTA-qualified short film festival, and in 2022, it was designated as a nomination festival for the prestigious European Film Academy. Every year, the festival fills cinemas and improvised screening venues around the historic center of Prizren with a carefully curated selection of over 200 films from around the world.