PriFest Presents the Main Competition Category

The Balkan feature film competition brings six powerful films that tell moving and dramatic stories of freedom, love, and identity. With a mix of world, regional, and local premieres, this category reflects the energy, diversity, and spirit of Balkan cinema.

Bear Hug by Ilirjan Himaj, Kosovo/Albania / World Premiere (107 min)
Agu, a caretaker in a bear sanctuary, sees his world collapse one night when he visits his girlfriend. Lost and desperate, he finds new life when Tina, a charming young woman full of dreams, magically appears in the apartment next door. Her aspirations of becoming a singer have trapped her in the clutches of a ruthless statesman. Moved by her plight, Agu devises a plan to rescue Tina, and together they escape into the wild. Like a bear and a doe, they seek freedom beyond the laws of men. Yet, a sharp-instincted hunter is on their trail. The boundaries between human and animal blur as survival instincts take over.

EMILY by Ajola Daja, Albania / Regional Premiere (72 min)
Brutally beaten by her abusive husband Robert, Emily desperately tries to cross the Greek border with her young son Oni to escape the nightmare. But to obtain travel authorization, Emily must confront her manipulative mother-in-law, Yllka, who will use every means possible to keep them trapped in Tirana.

THE PAVILION by Dino Mustafić, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro / Premiere (100 min)
After years of abuse and humiliation, a group of residents in the retirement home “The Pavilion” decide to stage an armed uprising. Armed with illegal weapons, they seize control of the institution, take staff hostage, and clash with authorities. Their desperate fight turns into a media and political spectacle. Old age becomes their advantage—they have nothing to lose and are willing to go all the way. Inside “The Pavilion,” a new order is born, driven by vengeance and accumulated anger, making negotiations impossible.

ETERNITY PACKAGE by Magdelena Ilieva, Bulgaria, Italy / Premiere (85 min)
A darkly comic odyssey through the fractured life of Bobka, an unlucky gravedigger in a corrupt Bulgarian town where old grudges never die—they are simply inherited. Bobka helps others cross into the afterlife, yet he cannot overcome the loss of his father years ago. When Joana—the fading diva responsible for his father’s death in a hit-and-run accident—returns to town and shamelessly hires him to organize her grand farewell, he is forced to face the irony of granting dignity to the one who took it from him.

MAN OF THE HOUSE by Andamion Murataj, Albania, Italy, Austria, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia / Premiere (104 min)
Fran, a woman who has chosen to live as a man, following the tradition of Albanian “Burrnesha.” To become a mother to her orphaned niece, Fran must make a difficult decision between preserving her status as a “man” or relinquishing it to reconnect with the maternal feelings she has long suppressed. When the time comes to move forward, her niece’s choice forces Fran to confront her deepest fears: to keep the child close or to give the young girl wings to fly.

CYCLE by Erkan Tahhuşoğlu, Turkey, Kosovo / Regional Premiere (81 min)
Sevim, living with her daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter in a poor Istanbul neighborhood, has worked for years as a daily cleaner in the home of a wealthy woman named Ayten. One day, Ayten’s Kosovar caregiver, Lena, suffers an accident in the house, sparking a legal dispute between the parties. Under pressure from Ayten and her son, Sevim is forced to persuade Lena, leaving her trapped between class, moral, and conscience conflicts.

📅 PriFest takes place from September 9–14, 2025, at Kino Armata, Prishtina.

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