The Sorrow of Mrs. Schneider
2008 Albanian film
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Sorrow of Mrs. Schneider (Albanian: Trishtimi i zonjës Shnajder, Czech: Smutek paní Šnajderové) is a 2008 Albanian-Czech romantic drama film directed by Piro Milkani and Eno Milkani, and written by Piro Milkani and Radek Šofr. Inspired by events in Piro's life, the film is about the romance between an Albanian film student in Czechoslovakia.
Eno Milkani
Radek Šofr
Jana Tomsová
Anna Geislerová
Tomáš Töpfer
Michele Placido
Arta Dobroshi
Barbora Štěpánová
Violeta Manushi
| The Sorrow of Mrs. Schneider | |
|---|---|
Film poster | |
| Directed by | Piro Milkani Eno Milkani |
| Written by | Piro Milkani Radek Šofr |
| Produced by | Piro Milkani Jana Tomsová |
| Starring | Nik Xhelilaj Anna Geislerová Tomáš Töpfer Michele Placido Arta Dobroshi Barbora Štěpánová Violeta Manushi |
| Cinematography | Miro Gábor Afrim Spahiu |
| Edited by | Eno Milkani |
| Music by | Milan Kymlicka |
Production companies | Bunker Film Studio Fáma 92 |
| Distributed by | CinemArt |
Release date |
|
Running time | 104 minutes |
| Countries | Albania Czech Republic |
| Languages | Czech Albanian |
Plot
It is 1961 and an Albanian student (Nik Xhelilaj) of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, together with a group of Czech students, is shooting his graduate movie on a motorcycle factory, in the small market town of Český Šternberk, in then Czechoslovakia. Coming from a country that is completely isolated from the rest of Europe, he is fascinated by the lifestyle, society and "erotic exuberance" of the Czech golden youth, yet feeling strong links with his family in his homeland. He falls in love with a married woman (Anna Geislerová), the wife of a police superintendent (Paolo Buglioni) and is insecure about his future.
Cast
- Nik Xhelilaj as Lekë Seriani
- Anna Geislerová as Mrs. Šnajderová
- Tomáš Töpfer as Director Piskáček
- Michele Placido as Count Jiří Sternberg
- Arta Dobroshi as Ema
- Paolo Buglioni as Mr. Šnajder
- Kamil Kollárik as Artur Zach
- Violeta Manushi
Production
Pirro Milkani, who was Albania's ambassador to the Czech Republic and Slovakia from 1998 to 2002, codirected the film with his son Eno. Pirro cowrote the film with Radek Šofr and it is based on Pirro's experiences at the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, which he attended from 1955 to 1961.[1][2] Pirro wrote the script over the course of six days at the Neurological Hospital of Tirana while his mother suffered a cerebral hemorrhage.[3] Eno edited the film and Milan Kymlicka composed the music.[4]
Financing was provided by Studio FÁMA 92, TVSH, Fund for the Support of Cinematography, Albania's Ministry of Economy, Culture and Innovation, and Kosovo's Ministry of Culture. This was the first film coproduction between the Czech Republic and Albania.[1][5]
Release
The Sorrow of Mrs. Schneider premiered in Tirana, and Prague, on 28 February 2008.[1] Albania selected it as its nominee for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film at the 81st Academy Awards, but it was not one of the finalists.[5][6]