Man of the House

After a death in the family, Fran faces a painful choice: to maintain her masculine social role or to revive the maternal instincts she once mourned and buried. In a story charged with tension and challenges, Fran must confront the enduring weight of social expectations and conflicting identities.

Set in contemporary Albania, “Man of the House” draws on the centuries-old Balkan tradition of the “sworn virgin”, in which women renounce marriage and sexuality to assume a male social role. Fran has lived for years as a man in a society where modern conversations about gender identity do not exist, navigating a harsh, patriarchal world that demands toughness at every turn. After her sister-in-law dies and with her brother away abroad, she becomes responsible for her young niece, stepping into a maternal role that clashes with the life she has built. As she and the girl navigate loss together, Fran is torn between the hard, manly exterior she must maintain, and the love and care she feels for the child – forced into an unavoidable reckoning of identity, responsibility, and affection.

Programme section: Cinema Current / Focus: Grief / LGBTQIA+
Original title: Burri i shtëpisë | Year: 2025 | Duration: 104′
Country: Albania, Italy, Austria, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia | Language: Albanian | Subtitles: English
Director: Andamion Murataj | Production: Andamion Murataj, Lissus Murataj – Lissus Media; Palomar, Ellly Films, Peglanje Snova, Thumbs Up, Manufaktura | Cast: Drita Kaba Karaga, Alesia Ruçi, Bislim Muçaj, Astrin Alihajdaraj | Screenplay: Andamion Murataj | Cinematography: Astrid Heubrandtner | Editing: Benni Atria

FESTIVALS & AWARDS (SELECTION) 

Sarajevo Film Festival, 2025 – World Premiere | PriFest, Prishtina International Film Festival, 2025 – Closing Film

DIRECTOR’S BIO 

Andamion Murataj is a writer and director with a background in visual arts. In 2009, he founded Lissus Media, an Albanian production company. Andamion co-wrote and co-produced the feature film “The Forgiveness of Blood,” for which he received the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay at the Berlinale. He is the founder and director of Balkan Film Market and Albascript Workshops. Andamion holds an MFA in Film and Electronic Media from American University in Washington D.C.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

Growing up in Albania, I got to know several sworn virgins, who although born female, take a solemn oath to live their lives as if they were men, strictly suppressing what they believe are the feminine aspects of their personalities. I have long wanted to tell the story of these unique individuals, who live their lives according to an ancient custom while struggling to survive in the modern world. I aim to set in motion a film that tells the authentic story of a sworn virgin who has to confront her gender identity and undergo tremendous shifts in a rapidly changing world.