Kosovo

Kosovo is a small country in the middle of the Balkan Peninsula. Not only one of the youngest countries in Europe, declaring its independence in 2008, but also one with the youngest population, around 50% of which are under 25.

Nature and Built Environment

Kosovo is blessed with high mountains, deep gorges, waterfalls, rivers, Ottoman neighbourhoods, mosques, Orthodox and Christian churches, and various Brutalist architecture.

People

Loving your guest is integrated into the moral code of Albanians. There is a saying the guest is lord of your house. The long struggle during history and the help and care our nation received made its people even more welcoming. Blessed with many young people, it has become a gem for nightlife.

Kosovo Cinematography Center & Film industry

Kosovo Cinematography Center is Kosovo’s public film fund and central film authority, financing feature films, short films, documentaries, animation films, project development and postproduction.

Kosovo’s film industry has had exponential growth in the last five years, with its films having been shown and awarded at major international film festivals such as in Berlin, Cannes, Sundance, Toronto, Sarajevo, Karlovy Vary, Montreal, Cairo, Goa, Tallinn and up to a nomination at the Oscars®.

During 2021, Kosovo had some great successes, including ‘HIVE’ by Blerta Basholli, which won the three main awards at Sundance and was shortlisted for the Oscars®; ‘Looking for Venera’ by Norika Sefa won the Special Jury Prize at the Rotterdam Festival, ‘Vera dreams of the sea’ by Kaltrina Krasniqi became the first woman to ever win the Grand Prix Prize at Tokyo Film Festival, The films ‘The hill where the lionesses roar’, and ‘Displaced’ premiered at Cannes Film Festival then later went on to win the best short film at Toronto and best short documentary at Sundance.

Film a Special National Interest Sector

Kosovo Cinematography Center, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, and the Government of Kosovo, has taken steps to declare the film sector a matter of special national interest. A working group was created with experts to develop the financial, institutional, and legal implications for fulfilling this agenda. Broadly directed at (1) modernizing the regulation, (2) progressively increasing the budget, (3) increasing professional capacities, and (4) investing in physical infrastructure. While we are working on establishing bilateral co-production agreements with numerous countries, most recently with France and Israel signed.

New Regulation & Financial incentives

Kosovo has intensified and mobilized efforts to pass the new cinematography law, which reflects the current needs of film and audiovisual production. After a comprehensive and inclusive process, including public hearings, the law was unanimously voted in its first hearing at the Kosovo Parliament in February 2023.

The new regulation integrates favourable financial incentives and a 30% cash rebate, which is predicted to impact our film industry and related professions immensely.