The 41st edition of the Alexandria Film Festival gives Robert Budina two awards, for best screenplay and Gresa Pallaska for best performance in the role of AIDA. A year after its premiere at the Warsaw Film Festival, “Pikë Uji” continues its journey through festivals with that consistency that belongs only to solid works. Not with the fuss of unexpected successes, but with the determination of a film that knows what it has to say and how to say it. The last two awards from the 41st edition of the Alexandria Film Festival – for best screenplay and best actress – come as further recognition of what we already know: this is a carefully constructed film, with artistic integrity and a clear vision.

The award for best actress for Gresa Pallaska is no surprise to those who have seen the film. Pallaska constructs a performance that works with reticence, with silence, with those moments when the face shows more than words can say. Her Aida is not a demonstrative victim, nor a heroically rebellious one. She is a woman caught in the web of her own choices, in the complexity of power, ambition and self-disguise.

It is precisely this nuance that makes her performance special – the ability to balance vulnerability and strength, to show how a woman can be both an accomplice and a prisoner of the system that surrounds her. Pallaska does not judge her character, but explores it with the kind of artistic curiosity that belongs to great actors.

The award for best screenplay – which bears the signature of Robert Budina, Doruntina Basha and Ajola Daja – is perhaps the most important recognition for a film that has chosen to show more than explain.

This is not a drama that exploits open conflict or dramatic confrontation for effect. It is a structurally elaborate work where violence – both physical and psychological – comes wrapped up in the normality of everyday life, in the routine of family life, in those moments when the things that are not said become more powerful than any dialogue.

The screenwriter cannot escape criticism for some narrative solutions that may have been discussed (as happens with any serious work), but his stance is sincere: to show how the system of corruption and misogyny is not something abstract, but infiltrates the innermost tissues of human relationships.

That Alexandria – a festival with a tradition and a platform that has historically appreciated Mediterranean cinema – should choose this film in its 41st edition and award it these two prizes has a special significance. It is a recognition that comes from a cultural context that knows how to read the nuances of patriarchal power, of everyday corruption and of that form of violence that does not make noise, but destroys slowly.

We already know – and it has been widely reported in the Albanian media – that “Pikë Uji” was included in the New York Times list of five international films recommended for viewing (published on September 19, 2025). Critic Devika Girish described it as a work that captures the “dark atmosphere of corruption” and praised how Budina “wraps the characters in a gloomy atmosphere of blue and gray colors and distorted perspectives.”

There is no need to dwell on what has already been said, but it is worth recalling that such a recommendation from a newspaper like the New York Times is not given lightly. It is a door that opens for our cinematography in a space where we compete with works from all over the world. The film is now showing on the Film Movement Plus platform for the American and international public.

It's easy to celebrate awards – and we should. But the story of "Pikë Ujit" tells us something more: that our cinema works best when it is built with a responsible approach, with serious international collaborations (Albania, Italy, Romania, Kosovo, North Macedonia).

It's not just a matter of talent – ​​although talent is fundamental. It's a matter of an ecosystem that is learning to function, that is building standards, and that is making serious artistic choices.

“Pikë Uji” is not an isolated case, but hopefully a sign of a trend – of a cinema that is finding its voice, that does not need to shout to be heard, but that speaks with the clarity and integrity that befits good art.

And that, more than any award, is what really matters.