Tirana, November 3 — Lec Shllaku, the director of Shkodër’s “Migjeni” Theatre and honored as “People’s Artist,” left a lasting mark on Albanian theatre and cinema. He was born on November 3, 1921.

Shkodër remembers him as a devoted and noble figure who gave heart and identity to the stage. He completed primary school at “Shkolla Fretnore” [Seminary School] and attended “Illyricum” and “28 Nëntori” [November 28] high schools. Later, he studied at the Shkodra Pedagogical Institute and the University of Tirana in Language and Literature.

Shllaku worked two years at the Central Army Theatre in Tirana. Then, from 1951 to 1960, he directed productions in Shkodër. In 1962, he opened and led the professional “Skampa” Theatre in Elbasan for ten years, staging plays such as “Linda”, “The Man Who Saw Death with His Eyes”, “Skanderbeg”, and “The White Siege”.

He also acted in films including “Skanderbeg:, “Before Dawn”, “Bullets for the Emperor”, “Victory over Death”, and “Stars of the Long Nights”.

Shllaku left manuscripts, novels, stories, monographs, and memoirs. In his last five years, he published seven books, including ”Two Steps West”, translated into Italian and Greek.

He received the title “People’s Artist” and was named “Honorary Citizen” by Elbasan Municipality.

/a.p./