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Kosovar filmmaker Blerta Basholli’s debut “Hive” won the Grand Jury Prize, the Directing Award and the Audience Award in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival in 2021. In May, she premiered
her second feature film, “Dua,” in Cannes’ Critics’ Week, and this week the film screened at Sarajevo Film Festival. Variety spoke to her about the film.
Set in late 1990s Kosova during the war, “Dua” is a coming-of-age film that follows 13-year-old Dua, who has to deal with the ongoing reality of war and the growing pains of becoming a young woman. As she navigates the daily violence and the possibility of having to leave her beloved country, Dua must learn how to protect herself physically and emotionally from the constant barrage of challenges thrown at her.
Basholli explains that the film is semi-autobiographical: “Most of the scenes in the film are based on what I experienced and what happened to me. Witnessing protests, watching the news, being part of all the discussions at home, leaving the country, it’s all based on my life.”
She adds: “When you’re making a film about small countries like Kosova, there’s always a temptation to explain because it’s complicated. There are two nations, two languages, nobody can tell the difference between them, and not many people know what really happened. They just know there was a war. In this sense, we tried to focus on Dua and to tell that journey through her.”
Basholli cites the Dardenne brothers’ “Rosetta” as a source of inspiration, along with Andrea Arnold’s “Fish Tank” and Lucrecia Martel’s “La Niña Santa.” The film is filled with long shots, most of the scenes being shot in one take. “Naturally, I want beautiful lighting, but I don’t want the hand of the DP, the camera, or the director to be felt. For me, it is very important that we believe in the atmosphere. I want people to feel that we are with an Albanian family in 1998 and not to make it feel like a beautiful film,” says Basholli.
Pinea Matoshi, who plays Dua with a vulnerable yet understated intensity, was discovered during a search through every primary school and high school in Prishtina, Kosova, Basholli’s hometown. She and her second assistant director Dafina Gjikolli auditioned around 5,000 children. “She’s a little bit like me when I was a teenager: she doesn’t talk much. I prefer actors who express themselves with expressions or attitudes. I think Pinea has this ability to talk with her eyes,” says Basholli.
The film also stars Yllka Gashi as Dua’s mother, who was the lead in “Hive.” Basholli says Gashi “has the same quality as Pinea: she expresses a lot by not saying much. I love working with her and she’s going to be in my next film.”
The rest of the cast includes Kushtrim Hoxha as Bekim, Vlera Bilalli as Maki, Andi Bajgora as Veggie, Fiona Abdullahu as Mimi, Kaona Matoshi as Tina (who happens to be Pinea’s sister), Arben Bajraktaraj as Pinea’s Judo trainer and Mila Savic as Mrs. Tomic.
A Kosova/Switzerland/France co-production, “Dua” is produced by Ikonë Studio, Alva Film, Kazak Productions, ARTE France – Unité Cinéma and RTS Radio Télévision Suisse. The film’s producers are Valon Bajgora, Britta Rindelaub, Thomas Reichlin, Amaury Ovise, Yll Uka, Agon Uka and Jean-Christophe Reymond.
World sales are being handled by The Party Film Sales; Frenetic Films Distribution is handling distribution in Switzerland.
Variety speaks with Basholli about the film:
How has Kosova and its people changed since the war? “Hive” dealt with misogyny in the village, for example. Do you think the status of women has improved?
Blerta Basholli: Yes, Kosova has changed tremendously. Women have played a crucial role, both before and after the war, in shaping society and pushing forward the position of women. Today we see women leading the country, women in politics, business and filmmaking. But in everyday life, and not only in Kosova, I believe there is still a long way to go. These structures and mentalities come from history, and change takes time.
The film is more relevant than ever considering all the conflicts that are happening around the world. What would be your message to the teenage girls growing up right now in Ukraine, Palestine and other war zones?
Basholli: Unfortunately, yes, the film is more relevant than ever, and that is exactly why I felt it was important to tell this story now. My message to teenage girls growing up in Ukraine, Palestine and other conflict zones would be: Keep dreaming, never give up, and never feel less than anyone else. You are equal to every person in this world: intelligent, capable and deserving of every opportunity. The fact that you are growing up in conflict should not stop you from becoming who you are. As painful and unfair as it is, I hope it becomes a source of strength, resilience and courage. And yes, I am sorry we are only watching and not helping you more.
Can you tell us a bit about what happened to your own family after the war and where are they now?
Basholli: Me, my mother, and my brother left Kosova by train. We first went to refugee camps in Macedonia, where we stayed for five days, and then we signed up to fly to Germany. We were placed in Braunschweig, near Halle, as refugees. We stayed there for four months and returned home after Kosova was freed.
My father and my two sisters stayed behind in Prishtina. They had moved from our apartment to our cousin’s apartment because it was becoming too dangerous. Later, they also tried to leave by train, but Milošević’s forces turned the train back, trying to create the false image to the world that people were voluntarily returning to Kosova. No trains were allowed to leave the country after that and our car got stolen by the Serbian forces, so they could not leave.
They went through a very difficult period. At one point, the police took my father to the station without any reason and later released him. Thankfully, despite everything, we all survived and were reunited.
What are your hopes for “Dua”?
Basholli: I just hope that our little film helps remind the world that teenagers growing up in conflict zones are no different from any of us. They have dreams, talents and knowledge. They listen to the same music, want to fall in love, go to concerts, laugh with their friends and imagine a future for themselves. I hope the film encourages people to see them not as distant victims of war but as human beings exactly like us. And maybe, in some way, it can make us all think about what more we can do to stop these conflicts. No one deserves to live through war — no one.
