Viktor Gjika's Nëntori i dytë (1982)
October 5, 2013
International House Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA, US
Part of European Cinema Uncovered
Q+A with Albanian cinema scholar Bruce Williams
"Produced for the 70th anniversary of Albanian independence in 1982, Nëntori i dytë (The Second November) is a sweeping historical drama centering on the country’s early 20th century fight for freedom from the Ottoman Turkish empire. Made during one of the darkest periods of Albania’s Marxist regime, director Viktor Gjika’s film features the revered actor Alexsander ‘Sander’ Prosi as the grey-bearded patriot Ismail Qemali. The story follows the quietly courageous Qemali as he crisscrosses his chaotic homeland, dodging the advancing Turks while racing to raise the flag of freedom in the port city of Vlora.
Colorlab Film Corp’s restored and remastered version of Nëntori i dytë triumphantly screened in last year’s 13th Festival of Albanian Film, thirty years after the film’s initial premiere and on the 100th anniversary of Albania’s independence." —Thomas Logoreci
Presented by the Albanian Cinema Project, an organization dedicated to preserving, restoring and promoting Albanian film heritage.
Nëntori i dytë, Viktor Gjika, 1982, Albania, digital, 84'
Holding a Ph.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles, Dr. Bruce Williams is Professor and Graduate Director in the Department of Languages and Cultures and Co-coordinator of the program in International Cinema at the William Paterson University of New Jersey. He has published extensively in the areas of cinema history; film theory; Latin American and European cinemas, and language and cinema. His current research interests include Albanian cinema; film criticism as a tool for nation-building in North Korea and Albania; cinematic ties between Brazil and the Soviet Union; radical cinema and reception; celebrity studies, and the sociolinguistics of the cinema.
