One of Us
dir. ERGYS META
DUTCH PREMIERE
An Albanian neo-noir about a policeman with PTSD, who wants to bring order and justice to a city where crime and corruption are rife. Visually impressive, auditory explosive and marvellously performed by well-known actors such as Alban Ukaj.
Sula, a veteran soldier of the Kosovo conflict, gets accepted into the police academy in Albania’s capital city, Tirana. His desire is to serve and protect the country. Devoted to his studies, he graduates with the rank of inspector. Sula suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic insomnia. Coming into direct contact with Tirana’s toxic and corrupt nature, his condition deteriorates, until he makes a shocking decision. A film that will keep you hooked.
SHOWTIMES
Friday, 24 November – 14:15
Saturday, 25 November – 14:30
NJI PREJ NESH | 2022 | 107 min |Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo
| PRODUCTION | Sabina Kodra – Era Film; DMF Films, Iliria Film |
| CAST | Alban Ukaj, Kasem Hoxha, Sebina Matlija, Alfred Trebicka |
| SCREENPLAY | Ergys Meta |
| CINEMATOGRAPHY | Shpetim Baca |
| EDITING | Stefan Stabenow |
| LANGUAGE | Albanian |
| SUBTITLES | English |
FESTIVALS & AWARDS (SELECTION)
Cottbus Festival of East European Cinema, 2022 – World Premiere | Cobb International Film Festival, USA 2022 | BUZZ IFF, Buzau International Film Festival, Romania 2022
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
One of Us is a journey of exploration inside the mind of a common man who feels a responsibility to do something important in the world that surrounds him. This is Sula’s narrative, our protagonist, who confronts the challenges of the outside world, beyond good and evil, to give meaning to his inner self…
A harsh reality, told bluntly, without any romanticism, almost as if it’s a documentary, will be the film’s narrative tone. This is the reason why violence will be present from the opening scene of the film. It is violence that guides Sula to self-discovery. His current financial status and the new environment he has settled into will not help him forget that earlier rush he experienced in wartime. Every step that he takes to help Sara, the raped police officer, will make him understand that this country needs people like him.
DIRECTOR’S BIO
Ergys Meta (b. 1985, Shkodër) is known for the revival of neo-noir sub-genres in Albania. He studied in Bologna per Cinematography Critic at the University of Bologna, Faculty of Lettere e Filosofia corso DAMS cinema mediologico. Ergys during the Academy years had recognition and appreciation from the cinematic community in Tirana, where immediately after finishing the academy won three projects at the Albanian National Center of Cinematography. One of Us is his first feature movie.