TWENTY-YEAR-OLD STAR OF “A PORTRAIT OF A GIRL ON FIRE” PRESENTED HER DIRECTORIAL DEBUT

DESPITE HER YOUTH, FRENCH-BORN ACTRESS AND DIRECTOR WITH KOSOVAN ROOTS LUÀNA BAJRAMI HAS BECOME AN ACTING STAR – AND HER DIRECTORIAL DEBUT “THE HILL WHERE LIONESSES ROAR” PREMIERED AT CANNES.

Bajrami came to Prague to introduce the story of three small-town girls in the middle of Kosovan mountains at Prague IFF – Febiofest.

“I wrote the first draft of the script in a week when I was eighteen years old. We started shooting five months later. I’m happy the film was made so quickly, it captures the energy of youth,” the director, who started her own production company to make the film, has said.

Luàna Bajrami only played a small supporting role in her film. “I wanted to give space to new faces, to a new generation of Kosovan actresses,” she explained. As an actress, she says she chooses films which reflect her own worldview. Her most famous part so far has been in A Portrait of a Girl on Fire, whose director Céline Sciamma is an inspiring figure for Bajrami. “Céline was one of the people who convinced me I could do the directing. She also gave me comments on the first draft of the screenplay,” Bajrami said. She has found that her youth, rather than her gender, seems to be the main reason people often underestimate her capabilities.

The Q&A after the screening covered many topics, including the film’s soundtrack or life in Kosovo. “Kosovans need visas to get almost anywhere, they can’t travel the way they would like to,” the director pointed out. Her film also draws attention to the lack of opportunities for young women in Kosovo. “The social setup in Kosovo is changing, but if we want change, we need to talk about these things even more,” Bajrami added.