Letters in the Wind

An unknown director. An improvised cast. A mysterious country. Do you feel put off already? Please don't. The director, Edmond Budina, a factory worker in everyday's life, is a sort of Clark Kent to his alter ego, a highly talented film director with a fascinating story to tell. A story conjured up almost out of nothing, but which will stick in your memory for a long time. The story is about Niko, a poor but honest high school teacher with two children - a son in Italy who is sending money home, and a younger daughter who has attracted the attention of the local mafia gang. The only contact with the son is through letters - he never rings home. The last letter, which gets blown away by a gust of wind before Niko can read it, supposedly contains some vital clues. Niko is getting worried by rumours that his son may run a mafia cell in Turin and decides to find out if there is some truth in them. Thanks to a former arsonist neighbour he helped out of trouble years before, he manages to get on a ship to Italy, where his quest begins. His odyssey is, among other things, an allegory of the transformation of Albania in the last ten years - from a land of indigent, but starry-eyed people to one run by opportunists and crooks, who have built illegal fortunes on their compatriots' miseries, whose hopes are swept away like letters in the wind... 8/10