The screening on August 8th shares a selection of ethnographic short films, as a captivating research-creation method, exploring the tension between planned and unplanned aspects of urban formation. Films delve into the essence of the neighbouring cities Tirana and Kamza and the interplay of their unique elements.
Belonging to this selection is a short film called Would you call yourself a kombinats? (14 mins 55 secs). It presents a delicate situation hiding in former industrial buildings of Tirana. Following the collapse of the Socialist regime in 1991, the Stalin Textile Factory, commonly known as Kombinat, fell into a state of abandonment. Once the pride of the party-state, the majority of the disused industrial buildings, were occupied by squatters that turned them into housing. The film provides a glimpse into the community life that developed within these appropriated structures. Despite a prevailing sense of stigma and uncertainty, the story depicts the collective capacity to create a life in these ghost terrains. The film was put together by a working group combining of Dorina Pllumbi, Agatha Kochaniewicz, Elina Alatalo and Sidorela Vatnikaj.
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