“Waltz with Bashir,” the acclaimed animated war documentary drama that received the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film (2008), as well as numerous other awards and nominations, was screened in Durrës, Albania, on the evening of September 6 in the city’s Roman amphitheater.
Ari Folman, the film’s legendary director, spoke at the event. The film was shown under the auspices of the director of the Durres International Film Festival, director Anila Varfi. “I feel at home. I was a little skeptical at first when Anila told me that she wanted to bring Ari Folman to Albania, but here we are today. Our cooperation will continue,” said Noah Gal Gendler, ambassador of Israel in Tirana.
After his arrival, Folman signed the plaque that will be placed on the “Art Street” plaque in front of the “Aleksandër Moisiu” theatre alongside the signatures of other famous names of world cinema, including Francis Ford Coppola, Claudia Cardinale, Marco Bellocchio, Paolo Sorrentino and others who have participated in previous editions of the festival in Durrës.
Then, on the big screen under the stars, the documentary film, which combines classical music, 1980s music, realistic graphics, and surrealistic scenes together with comic-style illustration, was shown.
Galit Peleg, the new Israeli ambassador to Albania: “We build bridges between people. Culture is the cement, if you will. Three years ago we sent engineers to Durres to help rebuild this city that was the main victim of the 2019 earthquake. Today we send movies.”
