Private Project

Kesulat - A Story of Kosovo

Set in a small village in Kosovo during the height of the 1998-99 war with Serbia. The local Albanian doctor is accused of being a traitor as he continues to befriend and treat the only Serbian family in the village.

  • Alan M Trow BSC
    Director
  • Jimi Tihofsi
    Writer
  • Alan M Trow
    Producer
  • Jimi Tihofsi
    Producer
  • Bislim Muqaj
    Key Cast
    "Dr Alban"
  • Selman Jusufi
    Key Cast
  • May-Linda Kosumovic
    Key Cast
  • Ismail Kasumi
    Key Cast
  • Jimi Tihofsi
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 9 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    November 4, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    250,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Kosovo
  • Country of Filming:
    Kosovo
  • Language:
    Albanian, Serbian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.85
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Hay Festival
    Hay-on-Wye
    United Kingdom
    June 2, 2018
    Official Selection
  • Hollywood International Moving Pictures Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    Best Documentary Feature, Best Actor
Director Biography - Alan M Trow BSC

Since the mid 1980's cinematographer Alan Trow BSC has been responsible for the cinematic look of many features and TV productions, including, Project Shadowchaser; Monolith; Chasing The Deer; Cyberjack; The Punk and Up ‘N’ Under. Along with his work as a DP he recently took on the role of director and producer on the much-admired 2017 movie Kesulat: A Story Of Kosovo. He is a full member of the British Society of Cinematographers.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

This is a very intimate portrait of how a history of racial and cultural discrimination tore a country apart.

It was an extraordinary and moving experience for me, on my first visit to Kosovo, to audition, with Kosovan writer/producer Jimi Tihofsi, over 100 actors at the National Theatre in Pristina.
They had all experienced the horrors of the war. The disruption of normal life and the inhumanity forced upon them.
They had been there.

They contributed in a very special way to the making of this film.

This coupled with the powerful emotions of our documentary interviews and the stark reality of archive newsreel footage shot by internationally renowned cameraman Vaughan Smith, founder of the Frontline Club, brought an extraordinary emotional depth to the edit.

Producer/Writer Jimi Tihofsi

A Kosovar Albanian, Jimi left Kosovo to study drama in London in 1997.
" I left Kosovo, just before the war started, although in parts of Kosova, there were sporadic clashes between the KLA, (Kosovo Liberation Army) and Serbian police forces.Life in Kosova became quite difficult as the Serbian forces were very oppressive towards the Albanian population. So oppressive that you could never sit to eat a meal with your family without fear - dread that they could come in and interrupt your meal. To interrogate and humiliate you. It was one of their policies to break our morale."

"A persuasive and poignant drama,
Kesulat takes you right to the heart of the bitter conflict in Kosovo.
Carefully researched and shot in authentic locations, it evokes both the dramatic upheaval
and the trauma that persists long after the news cameras move on. " Francine Stock