Today is the 99th birth anniversary of one of the greatest artists of the Albanian scene, Sulejman Pitarka.

The great actor of the Albanian stage and film, Sulejman Pitarka was born on February 2, 1924 in Dibër e Madhe. Pitarka started working as an assistant accountant in a well-known Italian company and then in the Bank of Durrës, but after the end of the Second World War, he abandoned finance to devote himself to the theater.

After 1945, Pitarka performed in the amateur theater of Durrës roles in the dramas “The Island of Peace”, “Invasion”, etc. Pitarka began work in the distant May 1951, when he was appointed a professional actor at the National Theater. The roles performed by him on the stage of this theater in the dramas “The Good Brave Man with Many Friends”, “The Fool”, “The Hours of the Kremlin”, “The Fisherman’s Family”, “The 7 Shalians”, “have remained unforgettable for the spectators of the capital. “The girl from the village”, “Doctor Alex”, “The era before the trial”, etc.

Surprisingly, Pitarka played secondary roles until 1964, while in 1956, inspired by childhood memories and a difficult life experience, he wrote a prominent drama of Albanian dramaturgy, “The Fisherman’s Family”, which he followed with other works. Some of his most memorable roles in the theater belong to this period, such as in the parts “Halili and Hajria”, “Noble Bourgeoisie”, “Epoch before the court”, “Girl with gray hair”, “The Prefect”, “Crawfish”. , “Arturo Ui”, “A bride for Stasi”, etc.

 After the success in the film “Debatik”, Sulejman Pitarka, would have a rich career in cinematography. In fact, he started with the film ” Whirlwind” and after “The Debatik” he performed in “Open Horizons”, “The General of the Dead Army”, “General Gramophone”, “Following the Tracks”, etc. His most prominent role is that of Zheleznov, the Russian commander, in the film “Face to Face”. This film participated in the Film Festival in 1981 and was declared the winner of this edition. Other films in which he has performed are: “Sounds of war” (1976), “Cloak on wires” (1977), “Small siege” (1986), “Death of a husband” in 1989, etc.

Sulejman Pitarka is one of the most successful actors of theater and cinematography, protagonist of over 70 roles in theater and about 20 roles in cinematography; he is remembered by the public for each of these roles, evaluated by critics as quite realistic. His roles in the dramas “Arturo Ui”, “Great Besa “, “Doctor Alex”, as the People’s Hero, Sulejman Vokshi, in the drama “Epoch before the trial” by Ekrem Kryeziu, in the role of Paige in the play “The Merry Wives of Windsor” by Shakespeare, in the role of Gildesern in the play “Hamlet” by Shakespeare, in the role of Turhan in the play “This is how I love you”, “The good Brave with many friends”, in the role of Faik in the drama “Karavidhet”, “A bride for Stasin”, in the role of Hysen Aga in the comedy “The Prefect” by Besim Lëvonja, in the role of Bako in the comedy “Lady from the City” by Ruzhdi Pulahës, ending with his last role in the drama “Wooden plate” by Edmond Morris staged by the director Gëzim Kame in 2004 in the role of the abandoned old man. At the “Apollon 2005” Festival he would be declared the “Best Actor” of the festival, a title that will also be given to him at the Festival of Theaters in Dibër i Madhe in 2006.

In cinematography, his first role will be that of Eshref in the film “Windwhirl”. His interpretation would leave many other roles in the public’s memory, such as the role of Comrade Sokrat in the film “Open Horizons”, the role of Mr. Galip in “Sounds of War”, the role of the General in “Cloak on the Wire”, the role of uncle Avdi in “General gramophone”, the role of Zheleznov, the commander of the military base in the film “Face to face”, the role of Ali Bey in the television film “ The dawns of the great season ” and many others. His last role in the cinematography will be that of Selman in the film “ Far from the Barbarians ” in 2004, for which there were many positive reviews from both national and international critics.

Pitarka would also write several dramas where, in addition to the well-known “Fisherman’s Family” we can mention the comedy “The Man with the Apron” and the dramas “The good brave man with many friends” in 1957, “The Heroes of Linasi” in 1967, “The Tower of Linasi”.

It was in 2005 when he successfully performed on the stage of the National Theater the “Wooden plate”. All his roles have been appreciated by Albanian critics as original portraits, which the actor created with his dramatic, sometimes imposing voice on stage.

For his artistic merits, Sulejman Pitarka has been awarded the high titles “People’s Artist” and “Great Master”.

Sulejman Pitarka has won several awards in theater and cinematography, among them the award for “Career” as well as the “Grand Master of Work” Medal. He passed away on March 24, 2007.

/k.s/