Feature film
Face to Face
Ballë për ballë
Synopsis
In 1961, Besnik Bermema serves as an interpreter at the conference of communist parties held in Moscow, and finds himself a witness to the break between a large party and a small one, between two countries that called themselves brothers. The quarrel soon reaches the Albanian naval base of Pashaliman, near Vlora: Albanian and Soviet sailors find themselves face to face there over the submarines that Moscow intends to take back.
Context
The film adapts a novel about the break of 1961, whose author, Ismail Kadare, wrote the screenplay himself. It was still called “Vlora, Vlora” when the studio councils examined it, in 1977 and then in 1979. Shooting took place in Vlora and at the Pashaliman base, with cinematography by Ilia Tërpini and music by Feim Ibrahimi; Mevlan Shanaj plays Besnik and Bujar Lako plays Mujo Bermema. The film was released in Tirana on 7 November 1979.
Who it is for
Nearly two hours in colour, spoken in Albanian; one needs to know how Tirana broke with Moscow in 1961 to understand what is at stake in the disputed anchorage.
Prizes and reception
First prize at the fourth Albanian film festival; Bujar Lako received the cup for acting there.
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