I recently visited the south of France and stopped for a few hours in Cannes. A city with about 74 thousand inhabitants, approximately the same population as the municipality of Korça, which, according to the most recent census, has registered about 60 thousand inhabitants.
I know that the curiosity of the readers of this text will be primarily related to the reason why I compared the population numbers of two incomparable realities.
Detachment from the everyday, even for a few hours or days, creates within a person the natural energy to imagine the beauty of a foreign place as borrowable in certain ways in one's own country.
Of course, Albania is not France and Korça is not Cannes. But they have one thing in common. Korça embodies a rich authentic culture, in many cases dressed in the colors of the Francophonie, more than any other reality in Albania.
This fact more easily dissolves my fantasy about the similarity between the two realities and somewhat justifies my courage to publicly share the dream I saw with my eyes open, while walking the streets of Cannes.
(The photo was taken in front of the center where every year, the very prestigious Cannes Film Festival event is held).
It is not for nothing that Korça is known as the city of art and culture in Albania. This status is strongly based on the artistic genius of this city, which has produced actors, directors, screenwriters, producers and musicians who have contributed greatly to the history of Albanian film.
Prominent personalities in these fields such as Piro Mani, Viktor Gjika, Piro Milkani, Kiço Blushi, Liza Vorfi, Vangjel Grabocka, Minella Borova, Vangjush Furxhi, Llazi Serbo, Vani Trako, Violeta Manushi, Zhani Ziçishti, Dhorkë and Dhimitër Orgocka, Koço Qëndro, Piro Qirjo, Piro Kita, Perika Gjezi, Jani and Petrika Riza, Pandi Raidhi, Zamira Kita, Mirjana Deti, Robert and Edmond Budina, Niko Kanxheri, Jani Tane, Sotiraq Bratko, Teodor Laço and many other Korça residents, have been ingrained in the collective memory as emblems of Albanian film and our pride.
Not for the context in which they developed their artistic activity, mostly within the philosophy of socialist realism in which many beautiful films were produced, but for the originality, craftsmanship and artistic talent they possessed. They gave the country a truly rich artistic heritage in the genre of cinematography and beyond.
Korça is also one of the cities with a strong musical tradition. Korça composers have created songs and instrumental music that have been used in many Albanian films.
Likewise, many Albanian films have been set in Korça's landscapes and scenes, making the city part of the visual heritage of cinematography and nurturing nostalgia for the city's historical and architectural roots.
Albanian cinematographic productions with authors and artists from Korça have been presented at important international festivals such as the Cannes Film Festival, the Venice Film Festival, Zurich Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival and many other stages of world cinema, worthily representing Albania and Kosovo and creating space for Albanian artists to be present at important international activities.
But, why not imagine our Korça as a welcoming place for Albanian and foreign artists and professionals from countries in the region, who, before traveling to Cannes, Venice, Zurich, Berlin or elsewhere, promote their artistic product at the "Korça Film Festival"?!
Why not create a center for the promotion of Albanian and Balkan cinematography, right here in our city?!
Doesn't Korça gain more prestige by expanding its cultural offering to include film, in addition to projects like "MIK Festival" or "KOKO Fest", which have brought added value to the city?!
Why not bring together local and foreign film artists in Korça to share their professional experiences about new films?!
Can we attempt to realize such a project as a beautiful premise that helps qualitatively promote our city and country in this field?!
Why shouldn't we see the cinema building donated by philanthropist Thoma Turtulli, located in the heart of Korça, shine, not simply as a building but also as an artistic life, as civic audiences and art figures enter and exit it?!
Why not turn on the spotlights for advertising Albanian and Balkan films and roll out the red carpet where local and foreign producers, actors, directors, and screenwriters can present and promote their creativity?!
Why not turn this project into an annual tradition, to foster more culture and art?!
The Cannes Film Festival, held every year in May, brings in over 200 visitors to the city, as thousands of actors, journalists, and tourists from all over the world flock to the event. This undoubtedly benefits the local economy.
If we were to consider the "Korça Film Festival" project as a reality, wouldn't the city benefit from the influx of visitors, even if there were only 1000 of them?!
I know that the momentum of my imagination now has as its source only the love for our Korça. But I also know that such projects, seemingly and in content very ambitious, tomorrow can and even must make every effort to take their form of realization little by little, if we instill a will with new energy and vision, to move away from stagnation and faded charm and to see "Korça the flower" where it always belongs, on the pedestal of beauty, uniqueness, historical and cultural pride, which is certainly also economy, tourism and contemporary coexistence.
As Korça deserves!
