Lulzim Zeqja

Kujtim, a fisherman trapped between a haunting past and a hopeless present, works on his father-in-law’s boat. At a crossroads in life, he takes a perilous gamble and ventures deep into the sea.

In 1990, a European delegation comes to Tirana to monitor the reforms of the communist regime. A government official is sent on a mission to a faraway prison in order to bring an important dissident back to the capital.

The van finally stops, the doors open and Ben comes out alive. A few more fights and he will be able to pay his way out of Albania, and hopefully, take his father with him.

Albania, 1958. Luana, the daughter of a well respected man in the village, makes friends with Agim, who moved here after his family were banned from the city by the communists. Years later, their childhood friendship turns into teenage love, but without prospects. Luana’s father promised her in marriage to someone else when she was a child. When her father finds out about Luana and Agim’s love, he is furious and immediately arranges for his daughter to be married to the man he chose for her. Luana faces a dilemma: to flee with her lover to Germany, risking being caught by the communists and probably killed, or stay loyal to her family. A poignant love story set in dark times shaped by pressure from old traditions. A deeply human tale about freedom, which is the greatest good even if the price is loneliness.

Niko, an unemployed teacher, lives with his wife and daughter in post-communist Albania. Another son, who went to Italy to seek his fortune, regularly sends money home but does not reply to his letters. To find out why, Niko sets off for Turin, where a dramatic truth awaits him.

An amateur cycling team from Albania heads to France to take part in a tournament only to discover on the way that revolution has broken out back home.

"In The Moonless Night, the whole of Albania seems to head for the coast by train in order to emigrate to the West. So too is 16-year-old Rudina and her strict and secretive grandfather, who have left their village with that aim in mind. In the train, Rudina meets Gjergj, who is on his way with his friend Millo. The grandfather tries at all costs to keep the two away from each other, but is left powerless in the train when Rudina and Gjergj miss the train at the station. As they continue their journey on foot, they get to know each other better. When they reach the beach, the local Mafia is busy organising the smuggling of people and goods. When the train travellers arrive there too, it slowly becomes clear how much Rudina's grandfather tries to hide about his past and why he doesn't want the two young people to be together." - IFFR

Having fled Albania over 30 years ago, Agim and Erjon have led different lives. Their father's last wish brings them back. There they have to confront their past, their fragile relationship and a country that has changed as much as they have.