The film industry in Albania comprises the art of films and movies made within the country or by Albanian directors abroad. Albania has had an active cinema industry since 1897 and began strong activities in 1940 after the foundation of both the "Kinostudio Shqipëria e Re" and National Center of Cinematography in Tirana.[1][2]
Merita Sokoli is regarded as the first female actor in Albanian cinema.
Films were first shown in Albania starting in 1897, as part of travelling shows and to aristocrats. Kolë Idromeno, a photographer, started showing films in 1908 or 1909, and is regarded as the first Albanian to do so by the National Center of Cinematography.[3][4] The Charles Urban Trading Company shot films in Albania from between 1902 and the Balkan Wars.[5]Albert Kahn's ethnographical footage from 1912 was among the first films shot in Albania.[6]
On 10 September 1942, Benito Mussolini ordered the creation of the Tomorri Society, which would make films in Albania. Mihallaq Mone, who studied at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, was its director.[7] One of the first Albanian films shot with an Albanian cast was the short film Encounter at the Lake(Takim në liqen) from 1943.[8] Mone left Albania in 1945, and spent the remainder of his life in the United States.[9]
Communist
The Central State Film Archive reported that 286 films were made in the communist period.[10]Abaz Hoxha [sq] stated that 103 films were produced between 1978 and 1984,[11] and 86 films were produced between 1985 and 1991.[12]
In 1946, Italian films accounted for a plurality of films shown in Albania and still accounted for one-third of foreign films shown in 1955.[13] Albania started importing films from the Soviet Union in the 1950s. 21 feature films and 87 documentaries were imported in 1951, and 9 feature films and 77 documentaries were imported in 1952.[14]
The National Filmmaking Enterprise was formed in 1947, and started producing newsreels and documentaries. The Great Warrior Skanderbeg, a Soviet-Albanian coproduction, was released in 1953.[4][15] In 1950, Jani Nano, Mihal Çarka, Koço Tollko, Petraq Lubonja, Endri Keko, and Xhanfise Keko were sent to study for two years at the Moscow Central Studio for Documentary Film.[16] Keko was one of the few female directors in the communist period.[17]
The New Albania Kinostudio was opened on 10 July 1952, and started producing newsreels and short films. It was Albania's only film studio under communist rule.[18][15]Kristaq Dhamo's 1958 film Tana was Kinostudio's first feature-length film and is regarded as the first one in Albanian history.[19][4]
In 1952, Daughters of China (Zhong Hua nu er) became the first Chinese film shown in Albania.[13] The Sino-Albanian Cultural Cooperation Agreement was signed on 14 October 1954.[20]Forward, Side by Side (Krah pёr krah/Bing jian qianjin), the first Sino-Albanian coproduction, was directed by Endri Keko and Hao Yusheng in 1964.[21]
There were 33 cinemas in Albania in 1945, with around 7,000 seats.[23] The number of cinemas rose from 35 in 1950, to 72 in 1960, and 105 in 1973.[24] The Albanian National Film Festival was held eight times between 1976 and 2001.[11]
Modern
Kinostudio closed in 1991,[25] and was split into Albafilm, Albafilm Distribution, Albafilm Animation, and the Albanian State Film Archive.[26] The Tirana International Film Festival was launched in 2003.[27]
Kujtim Çashku established Academy of Film and Multimedia Marubi (Akademia e Filmit e Multimedias Marubi), the first private film school in the country, in 2004.[28]
The Institute for the Study of Communist Crimes and Consequences proposed banning showings of Kinostudio films in 2017.[29]
Movie Movie - a chronological history of Albanian cinema from 1911 to the present day
The Albanian Cinema Project - an initiative launched in 2012 by an international group of filmmakers, archivists and film scholars to help bring much needed attention to the cause of preserving, restoring and making accessible Albania's rich film legacy
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