amnesty

Directed by: Bujar Alimani (2011)

Synopsis

A man and a woman in Albania. Their two partners are both in custody but reforms in the penal system allow married couples to meet once a month for sexual contact. At first the film spins these two narrative threads alongside each other and then ties them together artfully. The two meet by chance in the prison and start a tender love affair that looks set to end when their partners are freed in an amnesty. Using breathtaking images without any superfluous flourishes, Amnistia depicts the life of its protagonists in today's Albania, which is marked by unemployment, economic hardship and patriarchal structures. The recently sacked textile workers queuing to collect their pay offs, the run-down hospital kitchen, a newspaper press, a tyrannical father-in-law acting up as a guardian of moral standards, and repeated takes of roads and buildings.

Festivals

Berlin Film Festival "Forum", Germany (2011)

Sarajevo Film Festival "Competition", Bosnia and Herzegovina (2011)

Gothenburg Film Festival "Debuter", Sweden (2012)

Montreal World Film Festival "Official Selection", Canada (2011)

MoMA Global Lens, USA (2012)

Raindance Film Festival "Official Selection", UK (2011)

Vancouver Film Festival "Cinema of our time", Canada (2011)

Chicago Film Festival "World cinema", USA (2011)

CPH:PIX Copenhagen Film Festival "New Talent", Denmark (2011)

Lecce European Film Festival, "Competition" Italy (2011)

Estoril Film Festival "in Competition", Portugal (2011)