Mua besoj më shpëtoj portreti

Twenty-five years after his abduction during the Kosovo War, painter Skender Muja recalls a pivotal moment of survival. During the war’s final months, Muja and many Albanian citizens from Mitrovica were captured while attempting to flee Kosovo. Held in a school repurposed as a detention camp, they faced confinement, fear, and an uncertain fate. One day, the Serbian police commander presented Muja with a chilling ultimatum: to draw his portrait on a blackboard. “If it’s good, you’ll be spared. If not, I can’t guarantee anything,” he warned. Under immense pressure, Muja began sketching, aware that his life depended on his skill. The film alternates between two perspectives: Muja creating the portrait and the anxious faces of his fellow detainees. When the commander approves the drawing, Muja believes it saved his life.
Narrated by Muja, Mua besoj më shpëtoj portreti explores resilience and the profound impact of art in even the most oppressive circumstances.

Alban Muja is a Kosovan visual artist and filmmaker based in Berlin and Prishtina. His work is deeply influenced by the social, political, and economic transformations of the Balkan region, focusing on history, memory, and socio-political themes, while connecting them to contemporary issues in Kosovo. Muja represented the Republic of Kosovo at the 58th Venice Biennale with Family Album, a project exploring displacement and identity. In 2022, he participated in Manifesta 14 in Prishtina.

Director Alban Muja. Screenplay Alban Muja. Cinematography Samir Karahoda. Editing Enes Saraçi. Sound Pëllumb Ballata. Producer Edon Rizvanolli. Production company 038 Studio (Prishtina, Kosovo). With Skender Muja.

Films: 2009: Blue Wall Red Door (33 min). 2013: Germans Are a Bit Scared of Me (15 min). 2014: Legendary Dog (14 min). 2019: Family Album (28 min). 2021: Why Kamza (21 min). 2024: Mua besoj më shpëtoj portreti / I believe the portrait saved me.

The screening dates for MUA BESOJ MË SHPËTOJ PORTRETI on berlinale.de