The FOCUS CineKO programme opens on Friday and will feature three films representing Albanian-language cinema produced outside Albania, particularly in the wider region.

The programme highlights films, directors and artistic experiences created in different countries but sharing a common linguistic and cultural space.

“DEA OPEN AIR” said Albanian cinema in Kosovo, North Macedonia and elsewhere in the region has gained greater international visibility in recent years, with films appearing at international festivals and attracting critical attention.

FOCUS CineKO also aims to encourage the circulation of Albanian films across the region and support a more open cultural and film market.

Screenings will take place over three evenings on Saranda’s waterfront and will be free to the public.

The festival said the programme offers audiences in Saranda and visitors to the city an opportunity to discover contemporary Albanian cinema from beyond Albania’s borders.

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Held this year under the slogan “Open skies. Open minds!,” the festival will focus on cinema’s ability to build bridges between cultures, generations and different perspectives.

The event will once again preserve its signature open-air format, offering collective screenings in outdoor venues. The festival’s main events will take place at the amphitheatre of the University of Arts in Tirana.

Competitive programmes for short films and student films, along with part of the feature film screenings, will be hosted at the “Kujtim Spahivogli” Experimental Theatre.

A total of 40 films from 25 countries will compete for DEA awards, including seven feature films, 15 short films and 18 student productions.

The feature film selection includes entries from Türkiye, Poland, the Netherlands, Kyrgyzstan, Italy, Spain, Finland, China, Hong Kong and the United States.

According to organisers, the feature programme explores themes such as social tensions, identity, technology, memory and human relationships through a variety of cinematic and artistic styles.

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The documentary a shocking investigation into how online platforms profit from the spread of hatred, fueling extremism and putting at risk the very foundations of democratic societies.

With this year’s theme, “Human Rights in the Digital Age,” the festival focused on the opportunities but also the challenges and threats of the online world, showing why the protection of fundamental rights is just as important in the digital space as it is in the physical one.

The Delegation of the European Union in Tirana was the main supporter of this year’s edition of the International Human Rights Film Festival in the Albanian capital.

“We are proud to have been the main supporter for this year’s edition. For 20 years the festival has been an invaluable space for dialogue and reflection for Albanian society,” the EU Delegation said in a statement on Monday.

The EU Ambassador to Albania, Silvio Gonzato, underlined “the Festival shows how powerful cinema can be in triggering debates and inspiring reflection about our society.”

“Our societies cannot allow hatred, racism, bullying, or other forms of discrimination and violence to spread in the digital space. The cost for our societies and democracies is simply too high,” he added.

Gonzato emphasized that “defending democracy today also means defending the digital space as a place where rights are respected and diversity is protected.”

“Proud that the European Union has been the first to regulate the digital space and keeping tech companies accountable for what is published on their platforms,” the EU Ambassador concluded.

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After five successful editions in the southern coastal town of Saranda, the Albanian Riviera, the five-day event celebrating independent cinema will move for seventh time to Tirana to share to share the European film offer and professional expertise with the public, students, and filmmakers in the Albanian capital.

The evening program of the festival’s main competition, Feature Film category, will be screened at the DEA OPEN AIR Cinema 1 – Amphitheatre of the University of Arts or the Concert Hall of the University of Arts, where the official opening ceremony will be organized as well as the Gala Awards Evening of the XII Edition of DEA OPEN AIR International Filmfestival Tirana – 2025.

The feature film, short and documentary films sections will be screened DEA OPEN AIR Cinema 2 – AGIMI Cinema Hall.

The Festival organizers said that participants in this international event have applied via the Film Freeway and Festhome platforms or by accessing the festival’s address.

A selective commission made of cinema professionals have decided for the festival’s programme to feature 34 movies from 20 countries across the world, seven of them from the feature film section, 14 from short film section and 13 in the student films section.

The competing feature films come from Albania, North Macedonia, Türkiye, Italy, Poland and Brazil, while short films come mainly from Kosovo, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Iran, Canada, Türkiye, Russia, Uzbekistan, Spain, Peru and Great Britain. The selected student movies are produced in Albania, Iran, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Italy, Chile and Russia. Albania is represented by four student movies, whereas Spain and Iran by two productions respectively and other countries by one movie.

Twelfth edition of DEA OPEN AIR International Film Festival is supported by Tirana Municipality, the Albanian National Center of Cinematography, the Ministry of Economy, Culture and Innovation, and the University of Arts.

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Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj attended the closing ceremony and in his remarks he expressed gratitude to the Festival’s organizers and Marubi Academy for turning Tirana’s former film Kinostudio area into an important culture hub.

“We are here at the Albanian National Film Studios known as ‘Kinostudio’, an area I always dreamed to transform into a gravity centre of the city. However, Marubi academy has already turned it into an important cultural hub and destination in Tirana. I feel blessed that this edition’s theme focuses on an event that is pretty similar to our reality and history, namely Ukrainian cause,” Tirana Mayor said.

Veliaj said that Ukraine and the country’s post-war reconstruction will bring together mayors from all over the world to announce concrete pledges and assistance for the war-torn country.

“I will be meeting with the Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, on Monday in Prague, where a coalition of mayors has been established. Tirana has established sister-like relations with the Municipal of Kharkiv, the city being bombed most intensively currently. We are already exploring ways and plans to assist Kharkiv as part of the post-war reconstruction effort and the municipality of Tirana has allocated a budge to support construction of schools and kindergartens in Kharkiv, the worst-hit area by the Russian aggression. A conference will take place in Prague, bringing together mayors from all over the world to help Ukrainian cities with the post-war reconstruction effort,” Veliaj said.

Ukrainian Ambassador to Albania Volodymyr Shkurov expressed gratitude to organizers for dedicating the Festival to the war in Ukraine.

“I am deeply moved and grateful that the Festival was dedicated to the war in Ukraine. In my capacity as an ambassador, I am widely informed about what is happening in Ukraine now, but it is the ordinary people, the war survivors are the ones who create the real and true perception of what is really happening there. I am informed about the situation in Bucha and Mariupol and I am aware of the horror local residents are experiencing. It is the 230^th day since the beginning of the war and Ukrainian people are fully confident they will emerge victorious,” Shkurov said.

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The festival, already turned into a traditional annual event, kicked off on June 20, bringing together filmmakers from the Balkans in a bid to establish cooperation bridges in the region.

The festival’s program includes screening of 66 short films, feature films, animated films and documentaries by filmmakers from Albania, Turkey, Kosovo, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Slovenia and Greece.

The event also serves promoting tourism in Albania, recently rated as the top up-and-coming destination globally, and especially Pogradec, the lake town in south-eastern Albania, situated on the shore of Lake Ohrid, shared between Albania and North Macedonia.

Cinema and food are the best elements to get to know the Balkans, organizers say.

This year’s edition of the festival is co-organized by the municipality of Pogradec, National Cinematography Centre and the Ministry of Culture.

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This festival is organized for the first time in our country in cooperation and with the support of the “Italian Institute of Culture” in Tirana.

The first two films shown last night were,  “Reopening of the Colosseum – Colosseum in quarantine” and “Drini Basin, the eagle’s nest” which attracted the attention of the public.

The “European Archeological Film Festival” also known  as “Archeovision Film Festival”, “Archeovision 2021” will take place June 16- June 30.

Film producers from different European countries such as Albania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy and Spain will participate in the event. //a.i/