After the fall of the Hoxha regime in the early nineties in Albania, the whole country collapsed instantly. The radical changes in the political establishment caused chaos, destroyed the industry – leading most into poverty – but mostly the identity of the whole nation was heavily blemished. In order to constrain it, some reached out to older social systems. Patriarchal and fundamentalist structures were reintroduced in a time where social awareness was non-existent, as everyone fought for survival after the defeat of the “workers\’ state”.

Unfortunately, the returning dominance of traditional law in certain regions imposed such a frame wherein the loss of identity became a crucial matter. Depicted through an enforced social prism, due to the terrible social and economic situation, the most obvious degradation of social values was expressed in the face of women. In such an environment, the women, being vulnerable, were easy to victimise and forced to exist under the agitation of those who would interpret their every uncommon behaviour, either as a misconduct, or as a social and cultural insult.

The lack of understanding serves as a byproduct of suspicion in every aspect. Having lost so much within such a short period, you become vigilant and aggressive in an attempt to be pre-cautious. As a result the present of this once rigorously locked country of the “Ostblock” tragically reflects the still open wounds of its history on the faces of its citizens. Those wounds are the historical memory they avoid, fearing the conflicts it could once again provoke. They wander to a future without experiences, as Bunkers on the mountains rotting under the dirt of time.

In the core of the story stands a young woman, Dajna, who confronts the
prospect of a change. For that, she thinks of a radical hypothesis in order to challenge the potential of it. Knowing that if a problem is left to expand in time, it can become violent, and she exposes the deepest fears and pains of her environment before an autarchic structure evolves like a spiderweb around them. Almost in immediate contradiction, she tries to save what integrity is left of her family.

Dajna’s psychology, as well as that of the rest of the characters is reflected throughout the lack of dialogue in every aspect. Northern Albanians are scarce in their words. This element by itself defines this story. I mostly want to focus the observation on their actions and interactions with space, with their secrets and, eventually, with their lack of courage, to express the substantial problem – the
inadequacy. Although the tone of the story is realistic, I would like to create a space/frame that does not allow the characters to hide.