MY LAKE
directed by Gjiergj Xhuvani
"You can't wake a person that is pretending to be asleep." - Navajo proverb
Young Kristo lives in a village at the edge of gorgeous Lake Prespa, a body of water divided on the borders of three Balkan countries Albania, Macedonia and Greece. In order to support his family, Kristo has become a small-time marijuana smuggler, using his boat and knowledge of the lake waters to transport drug packages from the Albanian to the Macedonian side.
DRAMA DCP/HD - 2020 - ALBANIA- 100min
ORIGINAL TITLE
ORIGINAL LANGUAGES Albanian
CAST Ariton Pollozhani, Tristan Halilaj, Vedran Zlivolic
PRODUCED BY ON Film Production
DIRECTOR :
GJERGJ XHUVANI was born in Tirana, Albania on December 20th, 1963. After writing several scripts for animated films, he directs his first dramatic short titled Black and
White (1991) (Special Prize at the Larissa Film Festival - Greece). In 1992, he directs a second short film, The Last Sunday (Special Jury Prize at the Bastia Festival - Corsica). After another short, A Day of a Life (1993) he shoots his first feature film, The Last Love (Special Jury Prize at the Bastia Festival – Corsica and Best Script, Best Set Design
and Best Actress awards at the Albanian Film Festival in 1995). In 1996, he directs the 35mm documentary Tirana ‘96, while his 1998 short fiction film Funeral Business enters the competition of the Venice International Film Festival and wins the First Prize award at Montpellier Festival (France), the Best Director award at the Euro Film Festival (Czech Republic), the FedEx Award at the Film Video 2000 (Italy) along with a Special Prize at the Albanian Film Festival in 1999. With his feature film Slogans (2001), Gjergj Xhuvani wins the Youth Award at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, The Grand Prix - Best Director and Best Actress awards at the 2001 Tokyo Film Festival, the Special Prize award at the Cottbus Festival (Germany) and the Best Actress and Best Script awards at the Albanian Film Festival. More critical acclaim and festival success comes with Dear Enemy, a feature film from 2004: Best European Script at the Sundance/NHK (USA), in competition at the Toronto, Edinburgh, San Francisco and Bratislava festivals and the Best Actor, Best Costume, Best Script prizes at the Albanian Film Festival. Gjergj Xhuvani’s East West East receives the Jury Special Prize award personally awarded by Vanessa Redgrave
at the Prishtina Film Festival in 2009, participates in the 2009 Thessaloniki International Film Festival and the 2010 Sofia International Film Festival. East West East: The Final Sprint wins the Best Actor award at the 2010 Alexandria Film Festival, Best Movie and Best Soundtrack award at the 2010 BAFF (Italy), participates at the 2010 Uthrecht Film Festival and the 2010 Mediterranean Film Festival in Bruxelles along with winning the Best Director - Best Actor awards at the 2009 Tirana International Film Festival. East West East was selected to represent Albania in the Best Foreign Film category at the 2011 US Academy Awards. His most dramatic feature, Distant Angels, was an Albanian- Italian-Kosovo co production that premiered in 2017.