The announcement of the winners and the distribution of prizes in Prizren closed the curtain on the 21st edition of Dokufest, the international documentary and short film festival.

The best Balkan film has been declared “Workers’ Factory” by Serxhan Kovacevic, director and cinematographer from Zagreb.

This film is about the workers who in 2005 took over the ITAS factory in Ivanac, a town not far from Varazdin in northern Croatia, who became the only successful example of workers’ self-management in post-socialist Europe.

The best national film has been declared “Ka me kalu” from Albania, by Flonje Kodheli. The public prize was won by “Love, German brands and death”, by Cem Kaya, a German author of Turkish origin.

“Will my parents come to see me” by Mo Harawe from Somalia was named best in the international short film category.

Dokufest’s nominee for the European Film Academy (EFA) is “Memories of a Turning Storm” by Sofia Georgovassili from Greece.

The artistic director, Veton Nurkollari, told Radio Evropa e Lire that he is pleased that they have returned the format of the festival to the way it was before the coronavirus pandemic.

“This festival was one of the most successful and attended so far,” he said.

For nine days, in eight categories and ten cinemas, 270 films were shown. Of them, 109 films competed in all categories.

The theme of the festival was “How to survive”.

The 21st edition of Dokufest was held from August 4 to 13 in Prizren.