Ars Electronica Garden Peja

Mardhë

Flaka Kokolli (XK)

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Beti, a woman in her late forties, together with her family, is deported by Serbian security forces from her home in the capital of Kosovo to the border village of Bllacë. With war breaking out in 1999, her story of survival is stitched together as the world she knew disintegrates. The seemingly endless cycle of cruelty Beti endures on her journey to a safe haven becomes a collective story of survival.

The story of ‘Mardhë’ is based on the oral history interview with Beti Muharremi that Kosovo Oral History Initiative realized as part of their research on women’s activism, with the aim of offering a unique space that gives visibility and permanence to a history of women’s subjectivity that has been consistently marginalized if not forgotten.

The short-animated film explores the experiences of Beti, a Kosovo Albanian woman in her late forties, during the deportation of the late 90’. Beti, together with her family, is deported by Serbian security forces from her home in the capital of Kosovo to the border village of Bllacë. With war breaking out in 1999, her story of survival is stitched together as the world she knew disintegrates. The seemingly endless cycle of cruelty Beti endures on her journey to a safe haven becomes a collective story of survival.

Flaka Kokolli (XK): Flaka Kokolli is an animator from Kosovo. She was born on the 7th of October 1998, in Prishtine, where she grew up and finished her education up until University. After having been a workshop participant and volunteer in the Anibar Animation Festival for a couple of years, at the age of 16 she started tutoring stop-motion workshops, later on coordinating them, as well as becoming a selection panel member for Anibar’s festival program.

Credits

Cast:
Story: Beti Muharremi
Directing: Flaka Kokolli
Supervisor: Anna Di Lellio
Animation: Flaka Kokolli, Giorgi Gabisonia, Nora Jusufi, Blendi Pajaziti
Background artist: Njomeza Mulhaxha
Audio production: Nart Kelmendi
Voice actors: Xhejlane Tërbunja, Adrian Morina, Igballe Qena, Robert Wilton

Produced by: Oral History Kosovo in partnership with forumZFD Kosovo Program
Supported by: Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Municipality of Prishtina.