Some Words in Conclusion: Towards an Albanian Cinema of Postcommunism

Summary

Abstract: The very last years of communist Albania were plagued by massive emigration. Albanians were attuned to economic issues, feared civil war, and lacked confidence in the democratic process. These years echoed back to the early decades of the twentieth century, when waves of emigration left southern Albania to find work abroad. Initially, the immigration was primarily male, leaving women alone in their home villages. Esat Musliu's Vitet e pritjes/Years of Waiting (1990), set in the 1930s, draws upon the earlier period of emigration to explore the contemporaneous situation. In this respect, it creates a transition between the last works of Kinostudio and one of the primary thematic thrusts of the early decades of postcommunism.

Key words: Albania, communism, Ramiz Alia, emigration, Kinostudio, postcommunism

What would emerge from the toppling of the communist regime would be a massive emigration, larger per capita than any other European postcommunist country. Giovanna Campani (1992, p. 7) attributes this to economic issues, the fear of civil war, and lack of confidence in the democratic process. Referring to the results of the shifting of alliances during the communist period and the years of isolation, Campani stresses:

This change of ideological and trade partners had a devastating effect on the country's already weak economy. The results were outdated industries and technology, poor agriculture, hard working conditions, no contacts with the rest of the world and widespread poverty. The government's attempt to remain ideologically pure did not succeed either. Despite the propaganda, young people were sceptical of socialist principles and would rather have consumer goods (p. 7).

Michele Colafato mentions another reason for such an exodus. There was a complete sense of claustrophobia. Albanians had been confined within a small territory for some 40 years, and desired to be a part of the world.

Of all neighbouring and distant countries, it was likely Italy that represented the outside world. Italy was doubtless the epicentre of Albanian emigration. A number of historical factors explain this. As mentioned earlier, municipalities of Albania, including Durrës and Shkodër, had been parts of the Republic of Venice until the end of the fifteenth century, when the regions were lost to the Ottoman Empire. Venetian influence, moreover, extended beyond this period. For instance, the sixteenth-century orthodox icons of Argitis Onufri were influenced by the painters of Renaissance Venice.