A Tale from the Past

Can heartbeats be “reactionary”? Yes, if they are the only sonic element on a montage-heavy documentary about the war dead. Made just before Enver Hoxha’s cultural purges in 1974, Dhimitër Anagnosti’s formalist, wonderfully edited affair will finally premiere in a restored version after its completion forty-two years ago.

An unbaptized woman is killed because of the regressive mentality existing in the mountains of northern Albania.

The year is 1941, World War II is going on. Vaso returns to his village, helping the revolt of the villagers against the enemy. Marko, his brother, wants to get revenge against the people who took his fiancée. This revenge becomes part of the overall revolt.

Three years after the fascist occupation, a group of children create the anti-fascist organization called "Debatik". Coli, an orphan boy, manages to become a member.

World War II. Italians accuse the residents of a village in South Albania of giving signals to the Greeks during the Greek-Italian War.

Year 1943. A group of soldiers, carrying an injured comrade, are trying to reach the hospital.

An old man refuses to undergo an operation in the hospital because he does not trust the abilities of the female surgeon.

A general and an Italian priest arrive in Albania to retrieve the bones of the soldiers who were killed during the war.

A satirical anthology film transforms popular humorous and sarcastic stage songs into standalone vignettes that lampoon the absurdities of bureaucratic officials and the liberal attitudes that were systematically targeted and suppressed in that era.

After the agrarian reform, a dispute for the land starts between two families in north Albania.

Spectacular film by successful director Dhimitër Anagnosti. Three people, Sergeant Rahmiu (Ndrek Luca), Islam (Reshat Arbana), and Bepini (Bujar Kapexhiu) hijack a military ship to emigrate to Italy. Along the way they encounter opposition in the sailor Skender Guri (Rikard Ljarja), who wants to turn the ship back to Albania. 4 people representing different layers of the postwar Albanian society merge and collide offshore, unfolding the political conflicts of that era.

In an orphanage in Tirana at the beginning of the Second World War during the occupation by the Italian fascists, a group of boys make plans to rebel against the despotic director and the oppression by the management.

After World War II, more than 85% of the Albanian people were illiterate. Partisan soldier Dritan Shkaba is tasked with opening new schools in north Albania to enlighten the population.

An old gardener tends for the flowers during the war. Nazis ask him for flowers for their dead.

A story about a little boy who lives in Tirana, the capital of Albania.

Film about the 5 Heroes of Vig, who died in a bloody battle during the National Liberation War.