Prime Minister Edi Rama noted that this adds a valuable new chapter to our history and cultural heritage.

“Wonderful news! The return of the Dea of Butrint to her homeland is a monumental milestone, profoundly enriching our history and cultural heritage,” Rama stated.

The return of the Dea enriches the historical narrative of Butrint and offers visitors the opportunity to see up close a significant testament to history, art and shared European heritage.

This year alone, Butrint has welcomed over 200,000 visitors, continuing to strengthen its position as one of Albania’s premier cultural tourism destinations.

The Dea of Butrint (also called the Goddess of Butrint) is a famous 4th-century BCE marble sculpture head discovered in the ancient city of Butrint, Albania.

Italian archaeologist Luigi Maria Ugolini found the head in 1928 during excavations at the Butrint archaeological site.

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Out of three nominated films, Singular (2025) by Alberto Gastesi took home the Best Film award, beating Gülizar (Turkey) and Jet Lag in Summer (China/Hong Kong/USA).

Guided by the motto “Open Sky. Open Minds!”, the festival cemented its status as a premier cinematic event in the region. This year’s edition showcased 40 films from 25 countries, welcoming 30 visiting filmmakers from 12 nations to celebrate independent cinema.

By bringing together the diplomatic corps, artists, and scholars, this gathering celebrated the power of cinema to spark dialogue, foster reflection and build deeper understanding.

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The 13th DEA OPEN AIR International Film Festival kicked off with a welcome reception outside the University of Arts. Following an opening address by festival director Edmond Topi, attendees gathered at the University of Arts Amphitheater to screen the Turkish feature film Gülizar (84 min), directed by Belkıs Bayrak.

“We are building a cinema culture from the ground up. Our goal isn’t just to screen films; it’s to rebuild the magic of moviegoing—sparking emotion, inspiring thought, and bringing audiences back to the big screen,” said Topi.

Under the motto Open air- Open minds, the festival will screen 40 films from 25 countries around the world, in two main locations: at the Amphitheater of the University of Arts (8:00 PM) and at the National Experimental Theater “Kujtim Spahivogli” (1:00 PM, 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM).

“The authors explore universal human experiences while highlighting the timeless and evolving struggles of humanity. We proudly feature a rich, global perspective, with voices spanning from China and Kyrgyzstan to Europe and the United States”, emphasized Mirela Oktrova.

The festival features a curated selection of feature-length, short, and student films. Beyond the screenings, attendees are invited to connect with filmmakers, network with industry professionals, and spark new collaborations that will inspire future creative projects.

The 13th edition of the DEA OPEN AIR International Film Festival is held with the support of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sports, the Municipality of Tirana, the National Center of Cinematography and the University of Arts. /j.p/p.s./

DEA Attaché John Livanis, who was accompanied to this meeting by ICITAP Attaché Richard Deasy, positively assessed the cooperation so far in the fight against organized crime.

Attaché Livanis expressed the readiness of DEA to promote cooperation with the Albanian Police on all fronts of the fight against criminal phenomena.

Proda expressed his gratitude for the DEA’s contribution to the very complex international police operations aimed at destroying criminal groups in the field of drug trafficking.

During the meeting, Proda assured the attachés that in the State Police they will find commitment, professionalism and reliability for every initiative that will be undertaken in the future, against organized crime. /r.e/p.s./

On the sidelines of this event, Dumani held a very constructive meeting with the DEA administrator Anne Milgram.

During this meeting, Milgram positively assessed the results that SPAK has achieved in the fight against international organized crime, with a special focus on drug trafficking.

Both interlocutors reaffirmed the great cooperation between the two agencies and are committed to its promotion, something which will culminate with opening of the DEA representative office in Tirana.

This cooperation is vital to successfully address the global challenges related to drugs and organized crime./p.s./

The opening event was attended by artists, filmmakers from Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Europe and the world, members of the diplomatic corps, politicians, personalities of culture and education, representatives of institutions and the media.

Director of the DEA OPEN AIR festival Edmond Topi delivered a greeting to the attendees, drawing attention to the consistency of the DEA brand in each of its editions.

“After leaving 10 years behind, we have 10 times more courage to look forward: for more contacts, more exchanges, more quality products and united forces in the name of the human, the beautiful, the sublime, in the name of the future and everything that unites us. The festival is an important platform where talent and creativity come to life, creating a space for dialogue and international cooperation,” said Topi.

On his part, Deputy Mayor of Tirana Andi Seferi said that he is a long-time friend of the DEA and that the municipality will continue to support it.

The 11th edition of the DEA OPEN AIR International Film Festival continues. His offer is shown from June 9 – 13, 2024 at the Amphitheater of the University of Arts, the AGIMI Cinema hall and the Center for Openness and Dialogue (COD) cinema hall. /k.s/r.e/p.s./

The conference preceded the official opening of the Eleventh Edition, scheduled to take place from 9th to 13th June 2024.

Attended the press conference were the Festival Director Edmond Topi, Artistic Director Mirela Oktrova, Director of the Feature Film Program Genc Përmeti and Director of the Short Film Program Ajola Daja.

In the competition for the DEA awards, the preliminary selection commissions have included in the program 39 films from 25 countries of the world, offered in three competitions and a special program, which are followed and evaluated by three professional juries.

The founder of the festival Edmond Topi said in the press conference that, “The 11th edition tends to have a single innovation apart from the program. We will return to Open Air in the amphitheater of the Academy of Arts, but we will also return to Saranda”.

On her part, the Artistic Director Mirela Oktrova said that, “It is interesting that this year what the authors have worried about are the strong challenges of man and the community, be it professional, existential, cultural challenges and so on, but also facing pandemics or the clash of cultures”.

From the point of view of their social contribution, the films offered are also evaluated by the Media Jury, which this year consists of: Alida Cenaj (chairwoman), Anila Basha (member) and Edi Oga (member). This jury will offer the Special Media Award in the category of Feature Film and the Special Media Award in the Short Film category.

Side by side with the above awards, the organizers of the International Film Festival will also extend two honorary awards: DEA of Recognition (Career Award) and DEA Homage (Memorial Award), while the Municipality of Tirana awards the Audience Award of Tirana, based on evaluation of the viewers of the capital.

DEA OPEN AIR also offers films out of competition. Specifically, in the eleventh edition of DEA, in the framework of the Cine KO program, with a focus on Kosovar cinema, there are offered the following films:  Aga’s House – Lendita Zeqiraj, Kosovo 2019; An unforgettable spring in a forgotten village – Kushtrim Bekteshi, Kosovo 2019 and Hero – Luan Kryeziu, Kosovo 2014./k.s/p.s./

Head of the Sector for the Investigation of Criminal Groups, Director Dorian Muça made a presentation of the joint fight against trafficking of narcotics and the criminal groups that deal with this trafficking.

Papadopoulos agreed with the requests of the Albanian delegation for opening of the DEA office in Tirana.

The meeting took place in an atmosphere of good understanding and sincerity and Papadopoulos responded positively to the invitation made by the General Director to visit the State Police.

During their visit to the States, the delegation of the Albanian State Police also visited the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) headquarters. There the delegation met Deputy Director Gregory Ducot. During this meeting, there was positively evaluated the cooperation of the State Police with ICITAP for several years, in several areas in support of the State Police. The interlocutors emphasized that the State Police and ICITAP are reliable partners and the cooperation will be further deepened. /p.s./

The press office of the State Police reported that they focused on strengthening cooperation in the fight against narcotics.

Papadopoulos congratulated Rrumbullaku for the results of the State Police in preventing and combating criminal activities in the field of narcotics and for combating drug distribution networks in the country.

During the meeting, the General Director emphasized the very good cooperation with the representatives of this agency, with the FBI and with the CIA, for the areas of competence of these agencies.

The Director General ensured the colleagues of the DEA that the State Police will continue to remain committed to the prevention and attack of hard drugs and will continue to be a serious and reliable partner that they can rely on anytime and for anything. He thanked the DEA, in particular, for the support it provided during the most recent police operation, which made it possible to crack down on one of the most well-known exponents of organized crime, who carried out his criminal activity for the last 20 years in our country,/p.s./

On the second night of the festival, there was played the documentary “Butterflies” by Bujar Alimani, 2022 production, 86 minutes.

The Short Film Program carried “Hero of the desert” by Director Lorena Sopi, 25 Minutes, Kosova – 2022; “In short” – Henya Brodbeker, 20 Minutes, Israel – 2022; “Just the two of us” – Clara Lemaire Anspach, 20 Minutes, France and others.

From the Feature Film Program, there was played “Charter” – Amanda Kernell, 94 Minutes, Sweden 2020 and “Black Bits” – Alessio Liguori, 90 Minutes, Italy 2023.

The program of the third day carried: Documentary Film Program “Pristina University” – Ekrem Xani, 53 Minutes, Kosova 2020. The film was played in the morning./r.e/p.s./