Maps 1 – A Listless Cinematic Culture (and a Brief Trip with My Niece)
By Elsa Demo · 15 November 2023
Part of the article series MAPS – A Written Journey on Albanian Contemporary Art, commissioned by UNAA x ArtNexus Program.
To provide a comprehensive overview of cinema in Albania, Elsa Demo conducted research in multiple localities – those with established cinematic cultures and those where the tradition has been disrupted or lost. At first glance, Albania’s cinematic landscape appears bleak: the country lacks public cinemas. But beneath the surface lies a complex interplay of societal forces that have transformed the role of cinema as a public space.
Accompanied by her teenage niece, Demo explores how young people engage with cinema. They watched “The Little Mermaid” at a traditional cinema in Tirana – the niece found it less impactful than Hans Christian Andersen’s original fairy tale. “The fairy tale made me cry,” she said. They then watched “Barbie” at a multiplex, reflecting on Susan Sontag’s observation: “If cinephilia is dead, then movies are dead too.”
The article examines multiplex culture, mainstream vs. art cinema, the decline of publicly funded film viewership, and the state of Albania’s cinematic infrastructure.
Full text with footnotes available in the PDF download.
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