“Pikë uji” will continue to be shown in Tirana at the Milenium and Cineplexx cinemas and in all cinemas in Albania. Yesterday evening, the Milenium cinema, packed with spectators, turned into an arena for discussions and debates about the Albanian reality, the open wounds of our society. This debate is brought by the film “Pikë uji” by the well-known director Robert Budina. Because it is not simply a thriller built on the fantasy of an artist, but a dramatic story that challenges us to reflect on. Director Budina and producer Sabina Kodra shared with the audience spicy moments of the film's making along with gratitude for the support of all those who contributed to its realization. The audience enjoyed for 90 minutes the extraordinary play of talented actors in a very successful script that raises dilemmas and raises dozens of questions about the reality we are living.
The journey of Aida, an important functionary in the municipality of a small town, is to try in every way to save her son, Mark, who is accused of raping a minor. The film raises crucial questions: what is a mother willing to do to protect her child, despite the magnitude of the crime, prejudices and judgments? As a good connoisseur of the corrupt system, Aida painstakingly crawls through the segments of power, in an attempt to save her son from the crime he has committed. In this journey, she realizes that she has been part of the construction of this monster system that spares no one.
At this delicate moment in her life, she goes back in time to remember how she sacrificed everything to climb the ladder of power. She has sacrificed the human inside her, her dignity, she has sacrificed love, and she feels the earth collapse under her feet when she sees her son behind bars accused of rape. In this dramatic journey she finds herself alone, without friends and with a destroyed family. However, with a mother's instinct, she does not give up and continues to believe that her son Mark is innocent.
In this intense drama, Aida's character undergoes a profound transformation, especially when Ben, the love Aida abandoned to run for power first, appears. Beni would appear after many years in the difficult moments of her life, now as the prosecutor who will decide the fate of her son. Aida's confrontation with the mother of the raped girl is also one of the most poignant moments, where the power of government appears again, this time in an attempt to buy the silence of the victim's family.
On purpose, the fate of the raped girl remains unclear, undefined, as if in a forgotten mire, as it happens in hundreds or thousands of dramatic events that we have seen in reality. The film does not end in the traditional way where guilt is punished and justice triumphs. Rather, it leaves the viewer thinking, continuing to provoke discussion even after the credits roll.
The end of the film was followed by the communication with the public of the director Budina and the producer Sabina Kodra. Most viewers have stopped to hear something from Budina, something more than what the film says at its end. A long conversation in an attempt to give answers to the dilemmas that the film leaves in the mind of the viewer, for dozens of versions of an ending that the film does not give, let you choose it yourself. The conversations go beyond the script to reach the reality, to the dramatic events of the Albanian society that we see every day with red subtitles on our media screens.
Someone was looking for a happy ending when justice is done, others tried to find there sequences of their dramas in the daily face of injustice. There are many wounds in our society and so few reactions to injustice, and the film Pike Uji tries to lead us to see the truths that are found in the dark recesses that the power in transition has created and through which it rules us. The film will continue to be shown every day in Milenium and Cineplexx cinemas as well as in all cinemas in Albania. It will then be shown in cinemas in the countries of the region and in Europe.
The actors
Director Budina gives indisputable credit to screenwriter Doruntina Basha, one of the most outstanding talents of Albanian cinematography, she has brought to life such a complex character as Aida, making the film a worthy attempt to return Albanian film to the international scene with dignity .
Robert Budina has assembled a wonderful cast of actors who bring complex and emotional characters to life. Gresa Pallaska, one of the most beloved actresses for the Albanian public, plays the role of Aida, while Arben Bajraktaraj, a world-famous Albanian actor who lives and develops his theatrical and film activity in Paris, plays the role of Iliri. Adem Karaga, a multi-dimensional Albanian actor from North Macedonia, plays Elvis, while Gerhard Koloneci, an actor who has started to play important roles in Italian cinema, plays Ben.
The film also stars Kodjana Keco, an Albanian actress who develops her artistic activity in New York, who has brought a shocking role in this film, and young natural talents such as Paolo Iancu, who lives in Bucharest and has started acting roles in the Romanian cinema and theater, also Henri Topi, a young man from Pogradec who promises to be one of the Albanian acting discoveries in the future.
After the premiere on September 12, the film "Water Point" will continue to be shown in Tirana at Milenium and Cineplexx cinemas and in all cinemas in Albania. Then the film will continue to be shown in cinemas in the Balkans, Spain, Italy, Austria and Germany. This film is expected to be an important success for the Albanian and international public.
director
Robert Budina, a well-known director and producer, devoted himself to the world of film after completing his studies in theater directing. In his career, he has written and staged many theatrical pieces, but in cinema, he is known for his special psychological treatment of the Albanian individual, exploring the challenges that this individual experiences in a socio-political reality that is continuous transition. The masterful realization of these works has made them appear in the most important festivals in the world, such as in Tallinn, Warsaw, Chicago, New York, Shanghai, and Fajr, winning important prizes and receiving positive reviews from famous portals such as Rotten Tomatoes and Indieire.
His films have gathered a wide audience for independent cinema in Albania, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, and have been shown on many national and international televisions. In 2014, his film "Agon" was selected as Albania's candidacy for the Oscars. Budina was also the author, screenwriter, and director of the 2022 TV series Power Square, which aired on Klan National Television and achieved a record audience.
(BalkanWeb)
