Kosovo

From May 29 to 31, the retrospective Oriente Vzhod / Occidente Zahod – Border Through Film and History makes its way to Kosovo, with screenings in Prizren, Peja, and Priština. In a region shaped by layered histories of division and coexistence, the themes of borders, memory, and identity resonate with particular depth.

This leg of the retrospective is made possible in collaboration with our main partner, DokuFest, Kosovo’s leading documentary and short film festival. Screenings will take place in three vibrant and essential cultural venues: DokuKino in Prizren, Kino Jusuf Gërvalla in Peja, and Kino Armata in Priština—each playing a key role in fostering independent cinema and cultural dialogue in the region.

In Prizren (May 29), the program opens with two powerful films that explore themes of memory, trauma, and political borders through poetic and experimental forms: Newsreel – Red Forests (2022, dir. Nika Autor) and Don’t Come Back the Same Way (1965, dir. Jože Babič). Both are part of the retrospective's Fortress Europe program, which reflects on the lived realities of borders past and present.

In Peja (May 30), the selection highlights documentary and hybrid approaches to stories of migration, displacement, and life in the shadow of the Iron Curtain, with screenings of Wind Storm Over Trieste (1953, dir. Gianni Alberto Vitrotti), Smugglers’ Confessional. Views Through the Iron Curtain (2010, dir. Anja Medved), and The Nearest Elsewhere: A Slovenian Journey (2017, dir. Elisabetta Sgarbi).

In Priština (May 31), the program closes with two thematically rich and stylistically contrasting films: Chicory ’n’ Coffee (2008, dir. Dušan Kastelic), a darkly humorous animated short rooted in rural experience, and The Last Resort (2006, dir. Thanos Anastopoulos & Davide Del Degan), a contemplative Italian drama reflecting on life at the edge of a continent.

With each stop, the retrospective opens new spaces for dialogue—across borders, across generations, and between the past and the present. Bringing these stories to Kosovo is more than a gesture of cultural exchange; it’s an invitation to reflect together on how borders shape, divide, and—through cinema—bring us closer.