Category Archives: Videos

Rona’s Musical Journey with Albanian Motives

“Me motive tonat” is the new album release by Rona Nishliu, our renowned Kosovar artist and former Eurovision performer who received the highest score that Albania has ever achieved in Europe’s greatest music contest.

Her new project (to be found here: http://bit.ly/1NeHLgt) is the final cycle of research and transformation that Rona Nishliu has applied to classics of Albanian urban music, dating back from the late 14th century. What started as her personal search of the roots of Albanian musical heritage, of the original emotions or sins that led to the creation of the songs, in the quasi academic setting of piano-and-vocals duo experimentation, has now matured into a musical show that transcends traditional content through fusion with Free Jazz, Trip Hop and Soul, offering a unique and refreshing blend of Balkan sounds.

“Me motive tonat” deconstructs ethnicity through the search for connections between different schools of music and by exploring the inner workings of traditional national songs, which to the ancient Balkan people are larger than life and official history books.

“Me motive tonat” rearranges the architecture of traditional Albanian music in a constant search for connections to today’s world, it maps and reinterprets cultural milestones, and questions the accepted national and social role of music and entertainment.

The project is presented through the following products:
• Music Album (9 songs)
• Documentary (40 min)
• Music Videos (9 videos)
• Live Concert (1 hour, possibly up to 75 min)

All these products may be presented separately, and also through a single package for everything, in the form of the so-called Music Cloth, a stylized handkerchief with a 8GB USB attached. The Music Cloth is our substitute to the conventional CD and DVD, and we hope it will be able to convey more of the spirit and intent of this project.

The intention is to penetrate the World Music Scene and create opportunities for representation of Kosovar culture on International Jazz and World Music Festivals and other venues, as well as across the whole range of traditional and social media.

A Cassette Player Can Send One A Long Way

“Smajl” is a documentary film that tells the story of a Kosovar family migrating to Germany in the 70s.The main character is Mr. Ismail Hoxhaj, the head of the family, who had gone to Germany to buy a cassette player. Circumstances of that time forced Ismail to drag along his whole family and open a new chapter in the lives of each of his household.

This documentary is directed by Philipp Meyer, a close family friend of the Hoxhaj’s, who in cooperation with the daughter of Mr. Ismail, Zymryte Hoxhaj, agreed to make the documentary.
“… this documentary is about the life and work of my dad, an immigrant in Germany, who alongside many from the Balkans, he had found plenty of work in the then redeveloping German state”, said Hoxhaj for KultPlus Magazine. This documentary includes political and social issues faced by Albanians in the 70s, as well as the activities of various diaspora movements. The film also includes the daily life of the children, growing up in a foreign environment and adapting to life in Germany with a radically different cultural background.

What differs the Hoxhaj family, is basically Mr. Ismajls dedication at looking for a cassette player, and getting so much more out of the bargain.
Watch the documentary trailer through the BunkHouse Filmmakers here, or through Vimeo where you can watch the trailer with English subtitles here.

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Screen Shot 2015-09-27 at 3.04.03 PM

A Concrete Success Story

The immigration influx of the 1990’s brought a great number of young Kosovars with ideas and ambitions  to Germany. With lawmakers seeing these changes in a positive light, legal barriers to business-doing were quickly removed ,thus enabling businesses to utilize such potential. These changes offered the opportunity for the Viqa brothers to open up their own business.When brothers Nazmi, Gani and Viqa Ilmi came to Germany in 1992, they brought with them a ambition and determination to work. Established in 1994, they established the  AWR Company and initially started with works on ruined structures, reconstruction and recycling.Through work and great discipline, as well as high quality services, the company expanded to all projects in Germany, winning bids from different companies and German institutions. Their large presence in various industrial complexes, airports and numerous workshops in the meantime shows that AWR is among the leading companies in this sector in the whole of Germany. One of the most prestigious projects of the company was breaking 116-meter building at the University of Frankfurt , which was once the tallest building in Frankfurt. About 30,000 people were gathered last year to see this spectacle, which was conducted with high professionalism of the team’s AWR. 

The number of diaspora businesses in Germany is yet to be known, however there have been steps taken towards creating a database and information log, in particular, the establishment of the Union of Kosovo-German businesses in Cologne in October 2013 marks the starting point of a serious attempt at networking the diaspora based businesses in Germany.The Kosovo-German business union has set up regular meetings with Albanian businesses, visiting the in cities where they work, but also their workshops. These meetings serve to share information of general developments, but also for any current project.

AWR GmbH Company is a good example of success and shows that hard work and courage to invest in the realization of ideas pays off.

Kosovo Sets Guinness Record on Largest Grain Mosaic

It’s official: Kosovo now holds the Guinness World Record for the largest mosaic of grain in the world, thanks to Alkent Pozhegu, a 38-year-old Kosovar born in Gjakova.

In May 2014, Alkent Pozhegu made a mosaic of dimensions 20×25 meters, with an area of 500 m2. Pozhegu’s work, with which he set a new Guinness World Record for Kosovo in this category, has set behind the previous record of 400 m2, which was presented in India.

Pozhegu3Pozhegu’s mosaic figure is made of maize, rice and wheat. He used 2500 kilograms of grain to create the names of Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo, two world-known soccer players. The mosaic also includes the symbols of Barcelona and Real Madrid FC Club.

foto.phpBelow you can see Pozhegu’s recent interview for TV Syri Vision, a local TV Station in Gjakova, Kosovo.

Bota Reaches World Film Festivals

“Bota” is a movie written and directed by Iris Elezi and Thomas Logoreci. The movie is a co-production of Kosovo, Albania and Italy, expected to appear on the 38th edition of The Goteborg Film Festival to be held between 23rd of January to 5 February, 2015 in Sweden.

The Goteborg Film Festival is ranked as one of the best festivals in the world, featuring over 500 films from 84 countries of the world, with over 40 seminars and discussions on film and production.

The Karlovy Vary international film festival, held in the Czech Republic a year ago, announced “Bota” amongst its winners in the 49th edition. After the success in the Czech Republic, France, Finland and Germany, “Bota” was shown in Kinema Millenium in Tirana,  Albania.

The actors starring in the movie are Flonja Kodheli, Artur Gorishti, Fioralba Kryemadhi, Tinka Kurti, Erand Sojli, Guljelm Radoja dhe Alban Ujkaj.

The original article was published in KOHA net: http://bit.ly/1ygmDUR

Peer Gynti nga Kosova- ready to tour Sweden

Peer Gynti nga Kosova is a theatrical play by Jeton Neziraj in cooperation with Robert Jelinek, Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden from Germany, Teater De Vill from Stockholm and  Multimedia center in Kosovo.

Our team had the chance to catch the play in one of its premiers in the Balkans. The play is focused on providing an insight into the complex and often ridiculous lives that migrants find themselves living throughout Western Europe. It examines the lives of thousands of migrants that find themselves turning to crime as a survival mean. The main character, Peer Gynti, has lived a total of 20 years back and fourth in German and Swedish prisons, thus finding himself in constant internal conflict, turns to imagination and delusion as a proper response to his living conditions.

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Elements like “Besa” and the respect and love for the mother are seen throughout the play as a constant reminder of the deep rooted cultural norms that Albanians from Kosova are raised with.

Peer Gynti nga Kosova has been premiered in major Balkan cities and is currently on its way to be shown at 18 different theaters throughout Sweden.