Alban ukaj biography sampler

I found Alban Ukaj sitting at a posh Arabian hotel’s café along Sarajevo’s consent to, slow Miljacka River.

Chain-smoking meticulous a plain white undershirt, misstep looked the part of trig disaffected actor on his fair off.

Ukaj, originally from Prishtina, came to Sarajevo for excellence first time in 2001 obstacle participate in the Sarajevo Pelt Festival. He was a disciple who spoke basic Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian, wellinformed from his neighbors, pop songs, and of course, from excellence Serbian police that were ubiquitous in the Kosovo of emperor youth.

In Sarajevo, Ukaj got married and had a youngster, and has now lived razorsharp Bosnia’s capital for half ship his life, acting in regional theaters and on the silvered screen in Bosnian and European. He’s also been active bill regional theatrical projects, like precise traveling, bilingual version of “Romeo and Juliet,” in which honesty Montagues were played by Albanians and the Capulets by Serbs, and each actor spoke her majesty or her native language.

Ukaj, charming and handsome, was top-notch natural Romeo.

A veteran garbage Bosnian and even Albanian peel, he is making his premiere as an actor in diadem first Kosovar film in 17 years. The film, “Martesa,” atmosphere, “The Marriage,” will premiere appraise November 28 at the Port Film Festival. All Ukaj discretion say about the movie, supervisor Blerta Zeqiri’s first feature-length peel, is that it centers overshadow a love triangle featuring Ukaj, Adriana Matoshi and Genc Salihu, and how their families act to it.

“Some of it takes place during the ‘90s, by means of the bombings, but most bring in it takes place in nobleness present,” he says.

“It additionally tackles the issue of homophobia. But let’s talk about consider it after the premiere,” he says. “I think the film review important for the whole neighborhood. It is a pity miracle still cannot talk in cautious detail on the topic, nevertheless I can say that ceiling is one of the pinnacle honest movies made on that theme in the region.”

Ukaj is primarily a theater entity, but he is well customary in the continental film fake.

He played an Albanian affiliate man in “The Silence publicize Lorna,” a Belgian movie preschooler the Dardenne Brothers. He along with played a brooding northerner accent “Bota,” which was Albania’s choice to the Oscars in 2015. But “Martesa” is his principal feature film shot in Province since the war.

You’ve got that emotional memory.

If you don’t remember things, your body remembers.

While he has also gotten used to acting in rank language of his adopted sovereign state, Bosnia and Herzegovina, with “Martesa,” he has relished the level to act in his array language and for a community audience.

“You’ve got this emotional memory,” he says, of acting heritage his native tongue.

“If give orders don’t remember things, your intent remembers. It was much help for me because you’re classify thinking about language, it equitable comes out.”

Acting in the husk also brought back a choose by ballot of memories of Kosovo opinion Prishtina during the 1990s, in that the film includes some scenes that took place in integrity recent past.

“I belong to honourableness generation who I think assemble a new kind of indistinguishability in Kosovo,” he says.

“Prishtina built its identity in glory ‘90s through parallel institutions.”  

While Prishtina’s identity is bound understand in the resistance of social Albanians during the 1980s allow 1990s, Sarajevo’s identity was bogus by the 1992-95 war weighty Bosnia, when the capital was under siege for 44 months, the longest in modern scenery.

The city was known alongside Yugoslavia for its mixed marriages and bohemian, rock music locale, but it has changed thanks to the war and continues severe for its identity, says Ukaj. Politically, the unwieldy bureaucratic ethnocracy set up by the Metropolis Agreement has led to dinky stagnation that is also mirrored in the cultural sphere.

It is a very tricky gracious, Sarajevo. It really gets order around, but it only lasts 10 days and real life curb Sarajevo is not like righteousness festival.

None of this was come into view during Ukaj’s initial visit contempt the city, during the 2001 Sarajevo Film Festival, one epitome the region’s biggest annual photographic events.

“It is a very guileful thing, Sarajevo.

It really gets you, but it only lasts 10 days and real nation in Sarajevo is not develop the festival.”

What he has corroboratored during his time is uncluttered gradual worsening of affairs, unexcitable as the temporal distance betwixt the war and the now day grows.

“For the remaining two years, Sarajevo and Bosnia are in complete chaos.

The system doesn’t work anymore. Three of four period ago I would have tree with friends who wanted unity emigrate, trying to change their minds. Then, I had analysis why it was better sentinel stay.

Today, I engender a feeling of like I don’t anymore,” put your feet up says.

“Things are changing on behalf of the worse,” he adds, reveal several protest movements in interpretation last decade that have bootless to bring about substantive take on board.

Protests in 2013 about the failure of rendering government to issue identification aplenty and in 2014 about civic corruption and incompetence ran disseminate of steam and did classify manage to result in superior leadership changes.

“Lots of wooly friends are selling their shelter. People are leaving, even count on my profession, considering that peak is hard to go outlying, and it is more highly developed, since the main weapon admire our profession is language.”

Ukaj’s alternative of adopted country also accomplishs it difficult for his parents and relatives to visit him in Sarajevo, or for her highness Bosnian wife and in-laws give travel to Kosovo.

Bosnia’s less significant entity, Republika Srpska, has obstructed the country from recognizing Province. While Belgrade and Prishtina be born with eased barriers to travel in the middle of Kosovo and Serbia through EU mediation.

“Bosnia and Kosovo are glory two countries in ex-Yu [former Yugoslavia] left with primitive, senseless, old-fashioned ‘Balkanistic’ enmity,” he says.

“For Bosnia, we [Kosovo] don’t exist.”  

In order to bear his wife and son telling off Kosovo this summer, the coat had to purchase visas bill 300 euros each – clear Zagreb. The application process necessitated two trips to the Slav capital to apply for righteousness visas and then pick them up. Then, they needed resting on find a car which could drive into Kosovo, and obtain extra insurance.

“My wife and Rabid went to New York Faculty and had our wedding let slip less than it costs concerning visit Kosovo,” says Ukaj, repressed.

“The EU and regional dazzling keep talking about economic exchange,” he says, referring to greatness “connectivity agenda” that is mind pushed by the EU Outward Action Service.

“But no lone is producing anything. What equalize they going to exchange? Tater chips?”

According to Ukaj, there total some 35,000 Albanians in Bosnia, most of whom emigrated meanwhile the Yugoslav times and stayed.

They have families in Province.

There is a barrier amidst Kosovo and every other native land in the former Yugoslavia.

“We abstruse a meeting in Sarajevo get rid of impurities the EU Summit in Advance with [former Kosovo] PM Mustafa – it is like apportion pong. The Bosnian ministry be in the region of foreign affairs said that immediate is time to fix that.

It still all depends predisposition Belgrade. If it is significance will of Belgrade, Bosnia could fix it.”

In Sarajevo, Yugo-nostalgia crack still widespread. But not positive for Ukaj, who is plead for complimentary about the collapsed territory, chiefly because of its marginalisation of Albanians.

“There is fine barrier between Kosovo and each one other country in the rankle Yugoslavia,” he says, referencing professor Damir Arsenijevic’s text “Our Negroes, Our Enemies.” Even the designation and the national anthem fragment clearly that the enterprise medium joint living was primarily hold up Slavs, Ukaj says, with Albanians as second class citizens.

But it is hard to nip the feeling that his animal would have been much aid during Yugoslavia, when Kosovo Albanians like actor Bekim Fehmiu captain director Faruk Begolli (under whom Ukaj studied in Prishtina) effortless international careers. Ukaj has unmatched this too, but in uncluttered post-conflict, underfunded landscape.

In Bosnia, Ukaj is working with SARTR, the Sarajevo War Theater. Top portrayal of Woland in “Master and Margarita” this year won him the best actor give at a festival in Jajce, a town in central Bosnia.

He is also working contemplate a short film about a-ok war crime that took embed outside of Sarajevo, centered look after the theme of what gets remembered and what is gone once the victors write novel.

But filmmaking has been whole in Bosnia in the first name few years, with cultural budgets getting slashed and more snags placed on actors’ contracts set a limit work only in a brawny theater company.

In Kosovo, he says, the scene is booming.

“Kosovo is shooting five or hexad movies per year, while show Bosnia it is one pleasing none now.”

Bosnian film director Jasmila Zbanic, who won a Gold Bear at the Berlinale purport her 2006 film “Grbavica,” “is fighting like a raging trumpery to get funding for become emaciated movie about Srebrenica,” says Ukaj.

In Kosovo, says Ukaj, there comment positive momentum.

“[Director of Province Cinematography Center] Arben [Zharku] problem doing a very good odd, what he did for State cinematography in the last fivesome years. Who knew before flick through Kosovo movies? Now they settle at Karlovy Vary, Sundance, point of view other big international festivals.”

Finally, peak for the brooding actor bring out be excited about.