"In Search of Venus" outside the "Oscars", continues the promotion

The film directed and written by Norika Sefa was not part of the short list of films that can be nominated for the international feature film category for the "Oscar" award. But the Kosovo candidate to be nominated for the prestigious award will continue the path of international promotion. The Cinematographic Center of Kosovo was the only supporting institution for the promotion of the film

"In search of Venus", one of the successful films of Kosovo, has not managed to continue its path to the "Oscar". During the past week, the film directed and written by Norika Sefa did not become part of the short list of films that can be nominated for the international feature film category. But the Kosovo candidate to be nominated for the prestigious award will continue the path of international promotion.

The Cinematographic Center of Kosovo was the only supporting institution for the promotion of the film. Unlike "Zgjoi" who was a candidate last year, this year the Government of Kosovo and the Ministry of Culture have not provided financial support for promotion.

Besides the successful journey through festivals, the film "In search of Venus" with producer Besnik Krapin was selected in September of this year to represent the authenticity and thematic variety of Kosovar cinematography in what is known as the largest cinematography platform in the world. Despite the importance of promoting the film and Kosovar creators in general, the director of the Cinematographic Center of Kosovo, Lum Çitaku, has announced that this institution is the only one that has allocated a budget for the film.

“We have allocated a budget that is considerable to promote the film. This amount is traditional, we also allocated such an amount for 'Zgjoi', at that time the Government and the Ministry of Culture were mobilized, this time only we allocated such an amount. The campaign was more or less the same, it was targeted at the members of the Academy, because they make the decisions", stated Çitaku. The traditionalist KKK has allocated 20 thousand euros.

When the film was chosen as a Kosovar candidate in the race for "Oscar", Çitaku had evaluated it as an ethnographic sensory fiction of a small village. According to him, the campaign for the film is necessary, despite the fact that it was not selected in the short list, evaluating it as cultural diplomacy in the promotion of the state.

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"The film has not been shortlisted, however we have allocated a considerable budget to support it, but despite this, the decision is made by the members of the Academy and normally it is a very big competition. Regardless of whether he is voted in the end, the best scenario is to pass and become part of the race", said Çitaku.

The producer of the film, Besnik Krapi, in the show "Through the film" on KTV, said in September that the film has a long promotion journey to reach the nomination for the prestigious award.

The selection committee that had selected the film "In search of Venus" to be Kosovo's candidate for "Oscar", consisted of filmmakers Ismet Sijarina, Blerta Basholli, Samir Karahoda, Visar Morina, Alban Uka, Valmira Hyseni and Enis Saraçi. This was the ninth time that Kosovo aimed for the "Oscar" award in what is called the international category. Last year, the country's journey to this award was successful, when Blerta Basholli's "Zgjoi" was shortlisted, but was not crowned with a nomination.

The film presents the achievement of independence when it seems like a difficult mission in a traditional Albanian family. Clashes between generations are inevitable. Thus, the director, through her film "In search of Venus", questions how it is to grow up in a house where three generations live, which for many cultures sounds like something impossible. However, the feature film has been seen by critics as a universal narrative. It is a reflection of what adolescence means and a summary of the search for individuality.

"In search of Venus" was given its world premiere in February of last year at the International Film Festival in Rotterdam (IFFR), where it received the "Special Jury Award" in the "Tiger Competition" category. This film made for the first time in the history of the well-known film festival, a project by a filmmaker from Kosovo to be included in the official competition and awarded. In August of that year, it was given a national premiere at "PriFest" in Prishtina, but it was returned to the local audience in January of this year, when it began to be shown in cinemas. Among other things, this film received two awards at the Hong Kong International Festival, for "Best Director" and "Best Actress" (Kosovare Krasniqi). This actress also won the award at the 36th edition of the prestigious Valencia Film Festival. And in August 2021, at the 27th edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival, "In search of..." was awarded with what is known as " Special mention for gender equality". This year, the success story opened at the 33rd edition of the International Film Festival in Trieste, where it received the "Cineuropa" award.

"In Search of Venus" is a co-production between Kosovo and North Macedonia, supported by the Cinematographic Center of Kosovo, the Film Agency of North Macedonia, the Municipality of Pristina and the Municipality of Kaçanik. It stars Kosovare Krasniqi, Rozafa Çelaj, Erjona Kakeli, Basri Lushtaku, Bleon Makolli, Fatushe Nushi, Ajan Zharku, Ermal Bilalli, Tristan Halilaj, Shend Miftari, Anisa Ismajli, Sheqerie Buqaj and others.

The "Oscars" awards ceremony is the oldest of its kind, which next year marks the 95th edition. The awards are considered by many to be the most prestigious and important in the entertainment industry worldwide. The nominations for the 95th Academy Awards will be announced on January 24, while the awards ceremony will be held on March 12.

Shortlisted films before nominations

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The members of the "Academy Award" have chosen to be on the short list before the nominations in the international feature film category: "Argentina, 1985", "Corsage" from Austria, the Belgian film "Close", the Cambodian film "Return". to Seoul", the Danish film "Holy Spider", the French film "Saint Omer", the German film about the First World War, "All Quiet on the Western" and the Indian film Last Film Show".

The list also includes "The Quiet Girl" from Ireland, "False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths" from Mexico and Bardo, "The Blue Caftan" from Morocco, "Joyland" from Pakistan, "EO" from Poland" together with South Korea's "Decision to Leave" and Sweden's "Cairo Conspiracy".