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Conférence

The dominant paradigm of assessing Eastern European cinemas still tends to be interpreted through a set of dichotomies of the Cold War order (good vs. bad, liberation vs. oppression), privileging film and directors who took an oppositional stand in relation to communist totalitarianism. However, new approaches have erased such clear cut distinctions, and would require a re-mapping of films and cinema histories which re-enter in the realm of “European cinema” (as opposed to Hollywood). The majority of Albania's cinema history belongs to the communist era, with the national movie studio Kinostudio “Shqipëria e Re” financing some 247 fiction films during this time. Very little is known of Albanian cinema and its characteristics for various reasons (self-isolation, lack of Albanian language knowledge by foreign scholars), while many of the award-winning and internationally recognised post-communist filmmakers were trained and had worked during the regime. This roundtable/workshop aims to go beyond binary dichotomies of Cold War order, in an attempt to look beyond the apparent and offer varying shades of grey interpretations, by analysing popular and mainstream cinema produced and enjoyed during the communist period in Albania (which curiously, continues to be enjoyed by Albanians today after the fall of Hoxha's regime).

Participants

• Nathalie Clayer (EHESS),
• Bruce Williams (William Patterson University),
• Artan Puto (University of Tirana),
• Gilles De Rapper (Aix-en-Provence University),
• Konstanty Kuzma (EEFB),
• Clarence Tsui (Chinese University of Hong Kong),
• Ana Grgic (University of St Andrews).

Followed by the French film restoration premiere of Tomka dhe shokët e tij / Tomka and His Friends (1977, Albania, dir. Xhanfise Keko), 20:30 at Le Nouvel Odéon, 6 Rue de l'École de Médecine, 75006 Paris. Q&A in presence of special guest Artan Puto (Çelo) and film scholars.