Feature film
Debatik
Hysen Hakani · 1961
Synopsis
In 1942, three years after the Italian invasion, Albanian children form an anti-fascist group, Debatik. Coli, a poor orphan, becomes its youngest member and takes great pride in it; with the others, he helps steal weapons from Italian soldiers. But Italian engineers discover the group's headquarters, and documents they find there lead to several arrests, including that of Coli, while the schoolteacher, a communist, is threatened by a trap.
Context
The film recounts, in fictionalised form, the birth of the pioneer organisation Debatik, in 1942; its name comes not from an Albanian word but from the initials of its full title. Hysen Hakani directs it with Gëzim Erebara, from a screenplay they write with Sulejman Vaqari and Niko Koleka, and the music is by Tish Daija. Shot in Tirana, it was released on 27 December 1961 and at once made its director famous. It is distributed in China, and an Italian festival of films for young people screened it in 1985 under an Italian title.
Who it is for
A film of one hour ten minutes, in Albanian, whose heroes are children; it is enough to know that Italy had occupied Albania since 1939.
Prizes and reception
Best film of the Albanian cinema retrospective at the Giffoni festival in 1985; the first feature film of its director, which critics regard as his best.
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