It’s October, 1990, and the communist regime in Albania is trying to hang onto power. A European delegation is coming to Tirana to monitor the government’s implementation of reforms. Meanwhile, long-time political prisoner Leo (Viktor Zhusti), formerly a professor, is secretly taken from his remote prison to the capital. As he is shaved and provided with civilian clothing, the grizzled dissident wonders what could possibly be happening. He soon realizes that after 15 years in captivity, he has become extremely valuable to the government, because the leader of the European delegation, his former graduate school classmate, has asked to meet with him. But nothing, of course, goes according to plan. This compact, ironic drama from Bujar Alimani, one of the most important filmmakers of the New Albanian cinema, perfectly encapsulates the situations and contradictions of a Stalinist society in the throes of change.

Winner: Grand Prix, Warsaw; Best Feature Film, Trieste

In competition for the FIPRESCI Prize