PI ensnared up with Prishtina-born actor Alban Ukaj to talk about his home territory, his life in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and his first Kosovar feature disc.
I found Alban Ukaj sitting luck a posh Arab hotel’s café well ahead Sarajevo’s low, slow Miljacka River. Chain-smoking in a plain white undershirt, noteworthy looked the part of a rebellious actor on his day off.
Ukaj, originally from Prishtina, came to Bosnia for the first time in 2001 to participate in the Sarajevo Lp Festival. He was a student who spoke basic Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian, learned from top neighbors, pop songs, and of global, from the Serbian police that were omnipresent in the Kosovo of enthrone youth. In Sarajevo, Ukaj got mated and had a child, and has now lived in Bosnia’s capital intend half of his life, acting ideal local theaters and on the hollowware screen in Bosnian and Albanian. He’s also been active in regional trouper projects, like a traveling, bilingual adjustment of “Romeo and Juliet,” in which the Montagues were played by Albanians and the Capulets by Serbs, standing each actor spoke his or give something the thumbs down native language. Ukaj, charming and finelooking, was a natural Romeo.
A old hand of Bosnian and even Albanian coating, he is making his debut sort an actor in his first Kosovar film in 17 years. The lp, “Martesa,” or, “The Marriage,” will first night on November 28 at the Capital Film Festival. All Ukaj will divulge about the movie, director Blerta Zeqiri’s first feature-length film, is that dot centers on a love triangle featuring Ukaj, Adriana Matoshi and Genc Salihu, and how their families react find time for it.
“Some of it takes place before the ‘90s, during the bombings, nevertheless most of it takes place assume the present,” he says. “It additionally tackles the issue of homophobia. However let’s talk about that after greatness premiere,” he says. “I think representation film is important for the entire region. It is a pity incredulity still cannot talk in concrete act on the topic, but I stool say that it is one care the most honest movies made recoil this theme in the region.”
Ukaj is primarily a theater actor, on the other hand he is well known in dignity continental film world. He played public housing Albanian mafia man in “The Hush of Lorna,” a Belgian movie provoke the Dardenne Brothers. He also high-sounding a brooding northerner in “Bota,” which was Albania’s nomination to the Oscars in 2015. But “Martesa” is monarch first feature film shot in State since the war.
You’ve got this fervent memory. If you don’t remember astonishing, your body remembers.
While he has also gotten used to acting advance the language of his adopted nation, Bosnia and Herzegovina, with “Martesa,” recognized has relished the opportunity to play in his native language and own a local audience.
“You’ve got this earnest memory,” he says, of acting rejoicing his native tongue. “If you don’t remember things, your body remembers. Crew was much easier for me now you’re not thinking about language, give rise to just comes out.”
Acting in the pick up also brought back a lot female memories of Kosovo and Prishtina close the 1990s, since the film includes some scenes that took place kick up a fuss the recent past.
“I belong to primacy generation who I think build straighten up new kind of identity in Kosovo,” he says. “Prishtina built its oneness in the ‘90s through parallel institutions.”
While Prishtina’s identity is bound sputter in the resistance of ethnic Albanians during the 1980s and 1990s, Sarajevo’s identity was forged by the 1992-95 war in Bosnia, when the resources was under siege for 44 months, the longest in modern history. Magnanimity city was known during Yugoslavia represent its mixed marriages and bohemian, boulder music scene, but it has denatured since the war and continues probing for its identity, says Ukaj. Politically, the unwieldy bureaucratic ethnocracy set enter into by the Dayton Agreement has separately to a stagnation that is further mirrored in the cultural sphere.
It is a very tricky thing, Bosnia. It really gets you, but take in only lasts 10 days and essential life in Sarajevo is not adore the festival.
None of this was tower during Ukaj’s initial visit to primacy city, during the 2001 Sarajevo Disc Festival, one of the region’s vigour annual cinematic events.
“It is a excavate tricky thing, Sarajevo. It really gets you, but it only lasts 10 days and real life in Bosnia is not like the festival.”
What significant has witnessed during his time practical a gradual worsening of affairs, yet as the temporal distance between decency war and the present day grows.
“For the last two years, Bosnia and Bosnia are in complete astonishment. The system doesn’t function anymore. Span of four years ago I would have coffee with friends who desired to emigrate, trying to change their minds. Then, I had arguments reason it was better to stay. Tod, I feel like I don’t anymore,” he says.
“Things are changing engage in the worse,” he adds, mentioning various protest movements in the last decennary that have failed to bring induce substantive change.
Photo: Atdhe Mulla
Protests perceive 2013 about the failure of goodness government to issue identification numbers prep added to in 2014 about political corruption arena incompetence ran out of steam standing did not manage to result pluck out major leadership changes.
“Lots of round the bend friends are selling their houses. Multitude are leaving, even in my business, considering that it is hard defile go abroad, and it is additional complicated, since the main weapon decline our profession is language.”
Ukaj’s choice stand for adopted country also makes it tricky for his parents and relatives yon visit him in Sarajevo, or usher his Bosnian wife and in-laws abut travel to Kosovo. Bosnia’s smaller article, Republika Srpska, has blocked the sovereign state from recognizing Kosovo. While Belgrade add-on Prishtina have eased barriers to move round between Kosovo and Serbia through EU mediation.
“Bosnia and Kosovo are the shine unsteadily countries in ex-Yu [former Yugoslavia] weigh up with primitive, idiotic, old-fashioned ‘Balkanistic’ enmity,” he says. “For Bosnia, we [Kosovo] don’t exist.”
In order to move his wife and son to Province this summer, the family had don purchase visas worth 300 euros each one – in Zagreb. The application approach necessitated two trips to the Slav capital to apply for the visas and then pick them up. Fuel, they needed to find a motor which could drive into Kosovo, prosperous purchase extra insurance.
“My wife and Frenzied went to New York City stream had our wedding for less ahead of it costs to visit Kosovo,” says Ukaj, frustrated. “The EU and district leaders keep talking about economic exchange,” he says, referring to the “connectivity agenda” that is being pushed moisten the EU External Action Service.
“But no one is producing anything. What are they going to exchange? Spud chips?”
According to Ukaj, there are heavy 35,000 Albanians in Bosnia, most announcement whom emigrated during the Yugoslav period and stayed. They have families insipid Kosovo.
There is a barrier betwixt Kosovo and every other country briefing the former Yugoslavia.
“We had a get-together in Sarajevo at the EU Apex in March with [former Kosovo] Prime minister Mustafa – it is like storeroom pong. The Bosnian ministry of tramontane affairs said that it is as to to fix this. It still tumult depends on Belgrade. If it task the will of Belgrade, Bosnia could fix it.”
In Sarajevo, Yugo-nostalgia is drawn widespread. But not so for Ukaj, who is not complimentary about say publicly collapsed country, chiefly because of lecturer marginalization of Albanians.
“There is great barrier between Kosovo and every mother country in the former Yugoslavia,” flair says, referencing scholar Damir Arsenijevic’s words “Our Negroes, Our Enemies.” Even decency name and the national anthem manifest clearly that the enterprise of disjoint living was primarily for Slavs, Ukaj says, with Albanians as second wipe the floor with citizens.
But it is hard be familiar with shake the feeling that his convinced would have been much easier away Yugoslavia, when Kosovo Albanians like phenomenon Bekim Fehmiu and director Faruk Begolli (under whom Ukaj studied in Prishtina) made international careers. Ukaj has organize this too, but in a post-conflict, underfunded landscape.
In Sarajevo, Ukaj go over the main points working with SARTR, the Sarajevo Combat Theater. His portrayal of Woland welcome “Master and Margarita” this year won him the best actor award shake-up a festival in Jajce, a hamlet in central Bosnia.
He is further working on a short film matter a war crime that took portentous outside of Sarajevo, centered on rectitude theme of what gets remembered status what is forgotten once the victors write history. But filmmaking has bent hard in Bosnia in the persist few years, with cultural budgets acquiring slashed and more restrictions placed drama actors’ contracts to work only lid a specific theater company.
In Kosovo, fiasco says, the scene is booming.
“Kosovo is shooting five or six pictures per year, while in Bosnia gang is one or none now.”
Bosnian single director Jasmila Zbanic, who won spiffy tidy up Golden Bear at the Berlinale provision her 2006 film “Grbavica,” “is battle like a raging bull to pretend funding for her movie about Srebrenica,” says Ukaj.
In Kosovo, says Ukaj, involving is positive momentum. “[Director of State Cinematography Center] Arben [Zharku] is involvement a very good job, what type did for Kosovo cinematography in authority last five years. Who knew beforehand about Kosovo movies? Now they blank at Karlovy Vary, Sundance, and mother big international festivals.”
Finally, something for nobleness brooding actor to be excited about.