“Dua” Brings Kosovo’s War-Era Coming-of-Age Story to Cannes and Sarajevo

Kosovar director Blerta Basholli premiered her second feature, *Dua*, in Cannes’ Critics’ Week and subsequently at the Sarajevo Film Festival. Set in the late 1990s during the Kosovo war, the drama follows 13-year-old Dua as she navigates daily violence, the loss of childhood innocence, and the prospect of leaving her homeland. Basholli describes the film as “semi-autobiographical,” drawing on her own experiences of protests, refugee displacement and family discussions during the conflict.

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Basholli first gained international attention with *Hive* (2021), which won the Grand Jury Prize, the Directing Award and the Audience Award in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at Sundance. *Hive* examined misogyny in a rural Kosovo village; *Dua* shifts focus to the war’s impact on teenage girls.

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The film is a Kosovo-Switzerland-France co-production, produced by Ikonë Studio, Alva Film, Kazak Productions, ARTE France – Unité Cinéma and RTS Radio Télévision Suisse. Producers include Valon Bajgora, Britta Rindelaub, Thomas Reichlin, Amaury Ovise, Yll Uka, Agon Uka and Jean-Christophe Reymond. World sales are handled by The Party Film Sales; Frenetic Films Distribution manages Swiss distribution.

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Casting centered on a massive search of primary and secondary schools in Prishtina. Basholli and second-assistant director Dafina Gjikolli auditioned around 5,000 children before selecting Pinea Matoshi as the titular character. The supporting cast features Yllka Gashi (Dua’s mother), Kushtrim Hoxha, Vlera Bilalli, Andi Bajgora, Fiona Abdullahu, Kaona Matoshi, Arben Bajraktaraj and Mila Savic.

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• Blerta Basholli — Kosovar filmmaker; director of *Hive* and *Dua*, draws on personal war-time experiences.

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• Pinea Matoshi — actress portraying Dua; discovered through a nationwide school search in Prishtina.

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• Yllka Gashi — actress playing Dua’s mother; previously starred in *Hive*.

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• 5,000 children auditioned for the lead role.

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• Co-production involves three countries: Kosovo, Switzerland and France.

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• *Hive* earned three major Sundance awards in 2021 (Grand Jury Prize, Directing Award, Audience Award).

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Regarding Kosovo’s evolution, Basholli observes that women now lead in various sectors, yet everyday attitudes still lag behind. She also recounts her family’s refugee journey—train to Macedonia, a camp, then flight to Germany—highlighting the personal stakes behind the narrative.

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• “Naturally, I want beautiful lighting, but I don’t want the hand of the DP, the camera, or the director to be felt. For me, it is very important that we believe in the atmosphere. I want people to feel that we are with an Albanian family in 1998 and not to make it feel like a beautiful film,” — Basholli. Pinea Matoshi

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• “She’s a little bit like me when I was a teenager: she doesn’t talk much. I prefer actors who express themselves with expressions or attitudes. I think Pinea has this ability to talk with her eyes,” — Basholli. The

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*Dua* seeks to humanize adolescents living amid war, presenting their aspirations, music tastes and romantic hopes alongside the harsh realities of conflict. By foregrounding a young Albanian girl’s perspective, the film adds nuance to global understandings of the Kosovo war and offers a cinematic platform for broader discussions about resilience, gender equity and the lingering effects of 1990s Balkan conflicts.

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