Quo Vadis?

Quo Vadis?
(Short synopsis)

Eduart, a former movie Director, and his Canadian Dog, Potchy, are having an important argument. The dog is angry at his owner, because he is not getting any attention. He is locked home all day long and he never goes out. On the other side, Eduart is angry at him, because he takes his hard work for granted, and doesn’t appreciate the good life they are having. The movie director apologizes to his dog and takes him for a treat trip to Niagara Falls. On the way there Eduart tells him the story about the stray Dog Romeo and his lover, the Circus dog, Juliette. And the story goes on like this:
In the capital of a poor third world country, stray dogs wonder everywhere, philosophizing about their destiny in this world. One of them, Romeo, falls in love with Juliet, a famous circus dog. Romeo teaches her all about how to survive in the streets of the capital, while Juliet tells him everything about the circus life.
A sudden decision from the government comes into power, to announce that “all the stray dogs will be exterminated immediately!”. The killing starts immediately. Juliet abandons the circus and runs away with her lover, Romeo. They decide to hide and go somewhere else where creatures would be happier. But where is that place? They go to a pet shop. Creatures there are not happy at all.
They go to the Zoo, and meet the Lion, King of the Animals, and ask him for shelter. The King tells them there is no safety at the zoo any more. They go in the sea and ask the fish if they are happy.
The fish live in fear, because the Big Fish always will eat the one who is smaller. Romeo calms down Juliette, telling her that: “Let’s go somewhere else! There are worse cases than ours out there!” So they are in alert all times. In the meanwhile they are hungry and scared and keep running to find a happy place somewhere, to hide from the hunters that “comb the city”, killing stray dogs everywhere they find them.
Having no choice, they go to the animals’ market in the country side. It seems safe and nice over there. But it isn’t! They ask the sheep, donkeys and cows …if they are happy. The animals in the cattle market are sad and angry and the cattle market is nothing but a happy place. On the contrary, it is a real crime scene, where life doesn’t cost any value at all! So they ask the birds in the sky, if they are happy! But their skies turn out to be no heaven and the Hunter is getting closer and closer to them.
Finding no way out and no happy place in this earth they decide to stop searching and spend their remaining days together. At last they find a solution. But just at that moment, the tragedy occurs! The Hunter takes the life of Juliet. Angels take her away in the Heavens, while Romeo continues crying out for her permanently, in the streets of the city, where they used to wonder happily together.
The heavy memories of the movie director and the tragic story of Romeo and Juliette, has left the Canadian Dog, Patchy with a broken heart, as they have arrived at Canadian Niagara Falls. He runs around, chasing the pigeons in the park and asks them: “Are you happy?”. No answer. They fly away. He asks the water of the fall: “How about you? Are you happy?” No answer. He asks everywhere for an answer for his question. Silence.
Potchy asks the cars n the highway on their way back: “Hey! Hello! Are you happy?” Only the whistling winter wind is the answer. Potchy becomes sad and silent because he get no answer for his very important question.

  • Eduart Makri
    Director
    Hot summer 41, Hope, The Pirates Cave, Roots of Life; Meet you in Prayers
  • Eduart Makri
    Writer
    Pirates Cave, Roots of Life; Meet you in Prayers;
  • Eduart Makri, Arber Makri, Borana Makri
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Feature, Short
  • Runtime:
    44 minutes 48 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 15, 2015
  • Production Budget:
    250,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Albania
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    HD
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Eduart Makri

Born in Gjirokastra, Albania, Eduart attended the prestigious National Institute of Arts. A graduate of the Drama Department, Eduart instantly established himself as one of Albania’s leading actors in Film, Television and Theatre. Eduart distinguished himself as a film director, screenwriter, and producer, with a career that spans over two decades. His work has been seen throughout Europe in commercial theatrical releases, countless competitive Film Festivals, and European television broadcasts.

FILM - Writer & Director

QUO VADIS (2015) - Short, Color 45 minutes (HD 16:9)
Director, Writer, Actor, Producer

THE PIRATE'S CAVE (1991) - Feature, Color 86 minutes (35 mm)
Director, Writer

HOPE (1986) - Feature, Black & White, 35 mm. 75 minutes
Director & Lead Actor

HOT SUMMER (1985) - Short, Black & White, 35 mm. 45 minutes.
Director (CO)

TELEVISION: Writer & Director

ROOTS OF LIFE (1999) 85 minutes. Writer, Director, Producer (CO)
MEET YOU IN PRAYERS (1998) 65 minutes. Writer Director & Producer (CO)

FILM CREDITS-Actor:

MAYDAY - Death of the President (The Flight Engineer) Season 12 Episode 10 (2013)
MAYDAY - Collision Course (Dimitros Malamas) One Episode (2006)
MISSING–III Episode Cut (Victor Borski) Large Principal One Episode (2006)
Life TV Network (With Vivica A. Fox)
THIS IS WONDERLAND – Andre Tristan, Large Principal, 2005
BROTHERS AND FRIENDS – Vaso, Lead (1981)
AlbaFilm Production Studio Director - Dhimiter Anagnosti
IN BETWEEN THE TWO LEGEDS - Fani, Lead (1981)
AlbaFilm Production Studio Director - Piro Milkani
THE WORD OF HONOR – The Group commander, Lead (1983)
AlbaFilm Production Studio Director - Piro Milkani
IN THE NAME OF LIBERTY – The Partizan Agent, Lead (1985)
AlbaFilm Production Studio. Director - Fehmi Hoshafi
HOPE – Piro, Lead – (1986) AlbaFilm Production Studio
Director - Eduart Makri 1986

DARK NIGH – Kola, Supporting Lead (1986)
AlbaFilm Production Studio Director - Gezim Erebara

SELECTED TELEVISION:
THE DAWN OF THE BIG SEASON – Xhelo, Recurring Principal (1983)
Produced by Albanian National State Television - Director: Albert Minga

COMERCIALS Canada:

MISSED FIELD GOAL – Budweiser, Large Principal Sponsored (2005)
Labatt-Production House-Brown

SELECTED THEATRE WORK:

THE DEATH OF THE GIRL – The Investigator, Lead (1978)
The Albanian National Academy Theatre - Director: Gezim Kame
THE SONS OF BATO AGORA – The younger Brother, Lead (1979)
The Albanian Nationa Academy Theatre - Director: Birce Hasko
THE SEAGULL by Anton Chechov – Trigorin, Lead (1980)
The Albanian National Academy of Theatre. Director: Misto Zoto

WORK EXPERIENCE:

1997-1999: Film Director, Albanian Television Network
1995-1997: Executive Director for the Foundation for Culture and Arts FAN NOLI
Tirana - ALBANIA
1993-1995: Director of the National Department of the Performing Arts,
Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports of Albania
1994 - 1995: Teaching. (Professor of Drama)
The Albanian National Academy of Fine Arts

EDUCATION:

2002: George Brown College "Film Production" (Toronto)
1994 - 1995: Qualification in Cultural Policy of Managing and Marketing for the Arts
School of Theatre Studies, Warwick University - United Kingdom
1993 - 1994: European Diploma in Cultural Project Management and Marketing for the Arts
LISBON, HELSINKI, MOSCOW
1987: Philosophy (Master)
1987: English Language (Master)
1981: Bachelor of Arts, Drama, The Albanian National Academy of Fine Arts.

SPECIAL SKILLS:
Deep water diving, Sports, Swimming, Horseback Riding, Standard Driving, Military Training,
Fluent in English, French, Italian. Albanian (Native Language)

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The idea to make the movie came very strangely and painfully in my head! The stray dogs were a real problem in my country’s capital, Tirana in 1999 and I was asked from a friend of mine, a composer to make a documentary about supporting the killing of the stray dogs! He became an MP and was the Chairman of Tirana’s Municipality Council on “How to clean up our Capital?”
The stray dogs were even object of the political fights between different political forces within the city, who were accusing each other that “You are not even able to clean up our city from the stray dogs! How are will you be able to govern the whole city…the whole country?!”
I always saw after these events of my country, the big picture. I felt the racism and the wrong attitude towards the poor and the weak. Governments in a lot of cases, all over the world, prefer violence and crime as ”the necessary evil” and the only tool to resolve social problems. This attitude has been, is and will always be cynical and WRONG!
In the case of the municipality of the capital there, to prove they were able to exterminate the stray dogs…they approved a decision with majority of votes, to exterminate all the stray dogs, shooting at them…mainly at midnight! Victor Hugo, the French famous writer states: “All the big sins are committed at night!” I will add to it: “All the big sins are hidden by the darkness”
The Municipality put a reward for whoever was able to prove the killing of a dog! Five US dollars! It shocked me! It reminded me of how the superpowers acted in 1987 when they sliced my country to reward other superpowers. In the case of the decision of the municipality to exterminate all the stray dogs: What a cynicism and crime! How could they get such a decision? Based on what human values and principles? How could they clean the city and…legalize a crime! What message would they give to our youngsters?
This RACISM against the stray dogs (which reminded me of the human racism, because racism is a human behavior)…who become what they were not because of their own fault…and who were to be shot dead from who was supposed to resolve their problems…reminded me of a lot of similar cases of other world calamities caused to humans from their human fellows!
I refused to make the documentary…but asked myself a question: “What would the poor stray dogs do…if they could read the Municipality Decision and if they knew …WHAT WAS IN PLATE FOR THEM?!”
And that’s where the whole idea started to come to life! I thought of Romeo and Juliette and their impossible Love Story… Juliette, this rich Circus dog who falls in love with a Stray dog…Romeo that loves her dearly and risks his life for her! Juliette abandons circus and the safety for the sake of the love for him. How he teaches and protects her on the dangerous streets of the capital…and hand to hand the story kept going alive in my mind!
It opened a lot of possibility for me as director and writer to work totally in a different creative way…building a movie like a…painting…like a symphony, which I believe a movie really is.