Archive of films Unwanted / T’padashtun

Kosovo / Netherlands
2017, 85 min

Section: East of the West - Competition
Year: 2017

Teenager Alban lives in Amsterdam with his mother Zana, who left Kosovo during the war in the Balkans. When he starts going out with the sensitive Ana, neither of them has any idea that unresolved injustices and shadows from the past will make their way to the surface. This insightful, mature debut by a Kosovan director reminds us how difficult forgiveness and reconciliation can be.


Synopsis

Teenager Alban lives in Amsterdam with his mother Zana, who left Kosovo during the war in the Balkans and no longer has any contact with her family back home. A troublemaker at school, Alban doesn’t really fit in with his classmates; he’s an aggressive loner but also a dreamer who prefers just to hang about town. When he starts going out with the perceptive Ana, things start to look up. But then clouds begin to gather over the young couple’s sincere romance, casting shadows of their parents’ unresolved past that can still cause pain even twenty years later and in an entirely different country. Visually compelling, the story is told linearly while highlighting the simplicity, even impassivity, of the city and its surroundings in which the drama of a handful of people unfolds. Each individual carries his or her own secrets and injustices. The director allows the viewer gradually to see inside his characters, thus increasing the tension and ambiguity of their behaviour. This mature debut by a talented filmmaker reminds us that it’s impossible to escape painful experiences and that forgiveness and reconciliation are difficult to attain.

Ivana Novotná

About the director

Edon Rizvanolli

Edon Rizvanolli (b. 1972, Pristina, Kosovo, Yugoslavia) began his acting career in Austria in 1992. He also studied acting for two years at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York. In 1998 he shot his first short experimental film Blownaway, which was followed by the award-winning documentary Shuffle – Politics, Bullshit and Rock ’n’ Roll (Shuffle – Politike, laknurë dhe rokenroll), covering the alternative music scene in Pristina. He has lived in Amsterdam since 2007, where he works as an actor, director and film editor. Unwanted is his feature film debut, screened at Karlovy Vary in its world premiere.

Contacts

Asfaltfilms
Frederik Hendrikstraat 7G  , 1052HG, Amsterdam
Netherlands
E-mail: [email protected]

Press kit



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About the film

Color, DCP
World premiere

Section: East of the West - Competition
   
Director: Edon Rizvanolli
Screenplay: Edon Rizvanolli
Dir. of Photography: Danny Noordanus
Editor: Edon Rizvanolli
Art Director: Leonora Mehmeti, Pavle Mihalic
Producer: Edon Rizvanolli
Production: Asfaltfilms
Coproduction: 1244 Productions, De Productie
Cast: Adriana Matoshi, Jason de Ridder, Niki Verkaar
Contact: Asfaltfilms

Guests

Edon Rizvanolli

Film Director

Jason de Ridder

Actor


Danielle Bremer

Production Manager

Arben Zharku

Film Institution Rep.


Veton Firzi

Institution

Virgjina Peja

Institution


Niki Verkaar

Actress

YouTube

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