Monthly Archives: April 2015

Empowered Kosovar in Germany: Elona Kastrati’s Feminist Protest

Elona Kastrati made headlines in Karlsruhe, Germany, with her awareness campaign on gender equality. She chose “International Women’s Day” to spread her word on sanitary pads, which she put on the main road signs with provocative writing superimposed on the pads.

Screen Shot 2015-04-12 at 9.48.25 PM

The twenty year-old Kosovar shares her thoughts on the campaign in an exclusive interview for KosovoDiaspora.

KD: What made you do it?

EK: I was thinking about how menstruation is a taboo theme in our world.

KD: Could you very shortly tell us about the activity and how it started?

EK: I stuck feminist quotes for GENDER equality on menstruation pads i was with my sister Nora in my city and so we started

KD: Was the reaction all positive, or, were there critiques of your activity?

EK: Of course there were critiques but mostly good ones! I dont care about bad ones because its good that poeple at least talk about it

KD: Is there anything brewing in the near future?

EK: Yeah some little street art things and a speech in TEDxPrishtinaWomen

You can follow Elona on instagram.Screen Shot 2015-04-12 at 9.48.16 PMElonaK

Balcony: A Kosovar movie travelling through international film festivals

“Balcony”, a movie by Lendita Zeqiraj, is going to be part of several international film festivals, starting with Paris, France. This movie has already had 116 screenings in different film festivals around the world.

Zeqiraj’s “Balcony” will be screened in France, Germany, USA, Turkey, Canada, Brasil, Denmark and Austria during this month. “I am very happy that the movie is already part of different international festivals around the world, since it represents Kosovo’s cinematography” said Zeqiraj when interviewed for KultPlus.

The movie will start travelling from Paris on the 15th of April, at the festival in Sorbones – the World Center. The following destination is the Movie Festival in Dresden, where “Balcony” is nominated for the Best Short movie and will be screened three times during the festival. Zeqiraj will also be premiering her movie in Canada, Brasil and Denmark.

 

10 Reasons Klement Tinaj is the One Actor to Look Out for in 2015

Klement Tinaj is one of the most interesting actors to follow these days in Hollywood. He is known for his great versatile talent and has taken on fascinating roles on both theatre and film. Tinaj received his B.F.A in Theatre Arts and his MFA in Acting for Film. He was awarded the Excellence Award in Drama during his studies, as well as the “Certificate of Merit” and “Certificate of Recognition” for his academic achievements. Klement Tinaj founded Klement Tinaj Foundation to give back to the community by helping feed the homeless and the hungry. Tinaj has an impressive year ahead and here are ten reasons he is the ONE actor to look out for in 2015.

#1 He can race cars in Fast & Furious 7

Furious 7 hit the theatres today. Klement Tinaj was cast as the Race Wars Racer, adding to the exotic car collection of this action thriller. “We wanted to make Paul Walker proud with this film,” said Tinaj, “it was tough to watch the premiere as we all miss him!” Klement Tinaj shared the screen with the famous action stars Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson and Tony Jaa, who never disappoint their fans.

Fast &Furious 7, Actor Klement Tinaj with the models. Fast & Furious 7 is an action crime thriller, directed by James Wan, written by Chris Morgan and Gary Scott Thompson (characters), starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, and Dwayne Johnson.

Fast &Furious 7, Actor Klement Tinaj with the models. Fast & Furious 7 is an action crime thriller, directed by James Wan, written by Chris Morgan and Gary Scott Thompson (characters), starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, and Dwayne Johnson.

#2 He makes a pretty convincing detective and means serious business in “4Got10”

Klement Tinaj just finished filming “4Got10” directed by Timothy Woodward Jr, featuring Hollywood action stars Dolph Lundren and Danny Trejo. Tinaj plays the role of the “Detective”. Vivica Fox, Michael Paré and Johnny Messner also star in this action thriller. The movie is currently in post-production, to be released in 2016.

Actor Klement Tinaj in “4Got10” (2015), directed by Timothy Woodward Jr. (By Visionary Eye Entertainment ©)

Actor Klement Tinaj in “4Got10” (2015), directed by Timothy Woodward Jr. (By Visionary Eye Entertainment ©)

#3 He can cozy up to a romantic role and steel your heart away

Klement Tinaj is charming, and he can play the eternal romantic hero who can steel your heart away. Just as he can be a cool and tough guy doing street car races, or be an action hero to defend justice, Tinaj can also embody the good guy and the romantic loyal image. He brings the right emotional color to the production.

In the action thriller film “Last Chance” (2015), Klement Tinaj (playing Leo) cozies up with Paula Meilli (as Jessica) for a hot romantic scene. Starring Klement Tinaj, Paula Meilli, Jean Hyppolite , Robert Factor, Shawn Roth , and Adam Ohl, “Last Chance” is directed by Lin Zhao, written and produced by Klement Tinaj, cinematography by Alister Conway.

Klement Tinaj &  Paula Meilli in Last Chance (2015). “Last Chance” is an action short film, directed by Lin Zhao, written and produced by Klement Tinaj, starring Robert Factor, Jean Hyppolite and Paula Meilli. (By Visionary Eye Entertainment © 2015)

Klement Tinaj & Paula Meilli in Last Chance (2015). “Last Chance” is an action short film, directed by Lin Zhao, written and produced by Klement Tinaj, starring Robert Factor, Jean Hyppolite and Paula Meilli. (By Visionary Eye Entertainment © 2015)

#4 He is highly skilled as a martial artist

Klement Tinaj has mastered the discipline of Tae Kwan Do. He trained with Master Ho Lee in his Tae Kwon Do Academy in Yonkers, New York for four years. In March 15, 2008 he won the Inter School Tournament in Sparing, Forms and Breaking. He also won three gold medals. Klement Tinaj has performed several Tae Kwon Do demonstrations with his master in New York. He also competed in the Tae Kwon Do Championships in October 2011 and won the second place.

After years of training and obtaining a black belt, Klement Tinaj teaches Tae Kwan Do to students at different levels. He taught Art of Combat for New York Educational Theatre Festival in 2012 hosted and sponsored by The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York and Los Angeles.

#5 Tinaj is an experienced Stunt Coordinator & fight choreographer

Klement Tinaj is an expert, highly trained in various forms of combat, and he also does his own stunts for films. Tinaj fight choreographed the play “Some Kind of Love Story”, written by Arthur Miller. He was the stunt coordinator for both films “Helping Hand” (dir. Lin Zhao) and “Last Chance” (dir. Lin Zhao).

On 28 March 2015 Klement Tinaj was invited as a special guest artist along with assistant and partner Roman Xing, to demonstrate the art of combat at the Californian Festival, held in Upland, California. They gave a live performance of stunts and stage combat.

Art of Combat, Stunt Coordinator/ Fight Choreographer Klement Tinaj and Roman Xing

Art of Combat, Stunt Coordinator/ Fight Choreographer Klement Tinaj and Roman Xing

#6 He is a triple threat: Actor, Producer and Director

Klement writes as well in addition to playing lead roles (“Good Night and Good Luck”, “My Diseased Love”, “Have You Ever Thought…?”) and appearing in major movies such as “Fast & Furious 7”, “The Second Coming of Christ” and “4Got10”. He was the producer of the film “Still Meadows” and the director & producer of the play “Some Kind of Love Story”.

Klement Tinaj acted, produced and co-wrote “Helping Hand” with George McGrath who was nominated for an Emmy Award “Pee-wee’s Playhouse in 1986.” He also wrote, produced and starred in “Last Chance” directed by Lin Zhao. Both films will premiere in New York City on April 12, 2015 at Producer Club Theaters, 6:00 pm (www.klementtinaj.com).

Klement Tinaj(Producer, Writer, Director) and Lin Zhao (Director) in Helping Hand (2015)

Klement Tinaj(Producer, Writer, Director) and Lin Zhao (Director) in Helping Hand (2015)

Klement Tinaj, Adam Ohl, Robert Factor & Shawn Roth in Last Chance (2015

Klement Tinaj, Adam Ohl, Robert Factor & Shawn Roth in Last Chance (2015

#7 He loves theatre and is a playwright

Klement Tinaj wrote and directed an original two-act play, a play that promises to “take the audience on a journey to a by-gone era.” Starring the talented cast, namely Roman Xing, Alina Smolyar, Kayla Eva, Melissa Carvajal and Leandro Simozza the play will open in the heart of Hollywood and travel around Los Angeles in May 2015.

#8 Yes he can play multiple roles in a single production

That is the kind of genius and creative artist Klement Tinaj is. He can embody multiple roles in one production. He is that convincing! In the play “Aladdin” the director chose Tinaj for two parts “Prince” and “Drummer”. In the children’s play “Dora” he stood out for his dual role of “Drum” and “Band”.

Actor Klement Tinaj and Cristy Fuentevilla in the theatre play “Amadeus”

Actor Klement Tinaj and Cristy Fuentevilla in the theatre play “Amadeus”

#9 Klement Tinaj can also sing and write songs

Klement Tinaj loves performing music and sings Albanian folk music. He has debut two singles (“Pa Mua”, “Leila, Leila”). Singing is his hobby, however his number one passion is acting.

#10 He brings a fresh image on the American cinema screen

Klement Tinaj is spontaneous, fresh and authentic. Klement Tinaj has certainly proved his star potential in the last few years. He is capturing the attention of famous Hollywood filmmakers. With his talents, charm, charisma, ambition and gifted skills Tinaj keep audiences and critics wanting more. He has a captivating spirit and has proved himself as an actor, producer, director and martial artist. Klement Tinaj is a true star in the making! He is one to keep out an eye out for sure in 2015. 

Roman Xing, Leandro Simozza, Klement Tinaj, Dina Angelson and Al Sapienza in The Second Coming of Christ (2015), an action-drama directed by Daniel Anghelcev.

Roman Xing, Leandro Simozza, Klement Tinaj, Dina Angelson and Al Sapienza in The Second Coming of Christ (2015), an action-drama directed by Daniel Anghelcev.

Kosovo Artifacts At The Balkan Deities Exhibition

Figurines and  ritual vessels have represented Kosovo at the “deities of the Balkans” exhibition held on March at the National Archaeological Museum in France. This event has been considered a good opportunity for the presentation of Kosovo’s archaeological heritage dating back to prehistory. Furthermore this has been the first time Kosovo is represented as a state at an international exhibition of archaeological values.

The exhibits date back to the Neolithic era middle and late Neolithic, from 5500 years old up to 4 thousand years BC. This event is highly symbolic and brings an array of benefits for Kosovo’s image globally, for Paris is the city where the headquarters of UNESCO are located. Thus, it presents a good opportunity to show the willingness of Kosovo in cooperating closely in the field of culture with global organizations.

The exhibition was prepared by Mr. Izri Gashi, photographs by Enver Bylykbashi while the works concerning the geographical maps are done by Tomor Cela. The exhibition has also been published in a catalog of three languages, Albanian, French and English.

Microsoft Awards Albanian Programmers

Online Albanian platform ALMOOC which promotes the scientific education of Albanians, in cooperation with the current leader in information technology (IT), Microsoft, award application programmers working on the Windows Phone operating system (OS).

Almost two months prior, the platform for scientific education ALMOOC, in cooperation with the IT giant MICROSOFT Windows App Studio announced the competition “The Best of Almooc” with the slogan “learning has never been more fun”. The intention of this competition was to engage budding Albanian programmers to build apps (applications) for the Windows Phone OS.

This competition managed to incite a lot of interest in the technologically-passionate in Albania as well as in Kosovo. The number of participants was in the highs of 1000, showing the growth of the competitive spirit in Albanians for such international competitions, but at the same time it shows the amount of Albanian interest in programming in general. This was exactly the reason why Windows App Studio signed a contract with ALMOOC in order to engage Albanian talent in building apps for smart tools working with the Windows Phone OS.

The jury under the lead of the head of Microsoft Windows App Studio Mr. Bryan Tomlinson, selected over 200 apps which were rigorously tested and filtered, finally publishing the list of 20 apps which were presented to the mass audience in the final ceremony. The handing out of the awards happened in an unorthodox e-ceremony, powered by the IT platform which the participants had access to while their projects were being tested in real-time.

The sponsors of the Windows App Studio event coordinated with Microsoft Albania in handing out four tablets in the first category, three of the award-winners being competitors from Prishtina and one from Tirana. In the second category, four Nokia Lumia smartphones were awarded, while in the third category, four certificates of gratitude were handed out for the third-category winners.

Jury member Steven Yee was stunned by the produced work and he remarked that the awards were purely symbolic in comparison to the quality, creativity and functionality of the products which the Albanian participants offered in this remarkable competition. On top of this, the competition proved the competence and professionalism of the participants, which shows the overall high level of ability of Albanian IT programmers.

The organizers ended the ceremony by declaring that this was only the beginning of cooperation with Microsoft, and that projects of this nature will continue, not least due to the continuity which the ALMOOC platform ensures with Microsoft in the near future.

Source:

http://m.telegrafi.com/teknologji/microsoft-shperblen-programuesit-shqiptare-83-1256.html

Anda Kryeziu, a young Kosovar composer premiering her piece at “Music und Politik” festival in Luzern

Anda Kryeziu will be premiering her piece “Passport” on the 16th of April in “Musik und Politik” festival in Luzern, Switzerland. “Passport” is a music piece with a political context and it is written for an ensemble consisting of a flute, sax, guitar, piano and soprano. This is by far the most personal piece Kryeziu has ever written. Everything started in December 2014, when Lunaire ensamble and the organizers of the “Music und Politik” festival invited her to compose for their event, since they already were familiar with her music.

“Passport” is based on a poem with the same title, written by Mahmut Darvish, which talks about political issues in a more artistic/poetic level. According to Kryeziu, this text seemed relevant to the existing situation in Kosovo, since it talks about migration, oppression, the lack of activism, and about being a foreigner in our own country, which is also part of our reality.

This piece will be played in other cities such as Basel and Zurich. When KultPlus asked her if she will bring “Passport” to Kosovo, she answered “ I will do everything in my power to premier the piece during this year in Kosovo, since it is dedicated to its reality and society”.

Source: KultPlus

“Good Morning Balkan”, an exhibition by Dardan Luta

“Good Morning Balkan”, by graphic artist Dardan Luta (who is also part of the KosovoDiaspora team), will be opening on the 8th of April at 19:00 in the Gallery of the Ministry of Culture of Kosovo, located at “Qafa” in Prishtina.

dardan_luta portret

“Dardan Luta tests the borders of reality, with street art. It comes differently framed before the audience. Dardan does not create to reach fame, because fame to him is like a propaganda postcard. He creates to mark and reach current life, because only in this way can he overcome the fear of the time we are living in.” said curator Adem Rusinovci.

11His Norwegian teacher, Simon N James-Eide, also praises the exhibition with high accolades. “Luta’s work engages the viewer head-on. It confronts, challenges, visually calls out in anger, as it delivers its hard-hitting message. His texts fill the canvas, they are noisy, insistent, demanding. His is no armchair art: there is no reassurance or consolation as he tackles themes of conflict, nationalism and death. Whilst locating his oeuvre within the Kosovar context, he draws on wider references of war and human suffering. In these ways Luta offers us insights into the specific, local effects of the conflict, whilst simultaneously challenging us to set these insights in a global perspective.” DLexhibition DLuta2 DLuta3 DLuta4 DLuta5Photos courtesy of KultPlus