The life and career of the internationally famous Albanian actor Bekim Fehmiu will be in a documentary movie directed by Valmir Tertini. Invited to the show “On the radio” of Andri Xhahu, the director said that work on the documentary started three years ago. “The film is 66 minutes, without narration, built only with interviews. The documentary is in three languages and was shot in six different countries.”

Tertini says that the first challenge was the rejection of the application for this documentary. “We were rejected in Kosova. The file was rejected twice by the Cinematographic Center of Kosovo and twice by the Ministry of Culture. The former minister promised us that they would finance us. She told us to apply because Bekim Fehmiu is an important figure and the project is very serious. But the opposite happened. The first funding came from the National Center of Cinematography in Albania. Then the doors were opened by organizations and municipalities.”

Regarding the discussion of whether the main actor was Albanian or Serbian, the director says: “My goal was for this documentary to be international and not folkloric. Bekim Fehmiu is Albanian. He has proven many times that he is Albanian. In Serbia, he refused to change his surname according to the letters of their alphabet. Even in very large productions, he has said that he breaks the contract if the deformed name is written on the poster. “It should be written as my father, Ibrahim put it, Bekim Fehmiu,” he was saying.

The film starts with the death of the actor, then deals with his life, education, relationship with his wife and ends with the peak of his career and his last role.

Fehmiu passed away in 2010 by suicide. “It is a very well-prepared suicide, as his wife also says. Because he left two letters, left his watch, wrote that his body should be burned and thrown in Lumbardha of Prizren, that not many people should be invited, but only his close family. She says even the last hug wasn’t that warm maybe because he didn’t want her to suspect.”

What could be the reason that led the actor to commit this act? “From the confessions of his friends, he seemed to be tired of life. His brother says he couldn’t stand himself. It is very difficult to end a career at its peak. It was like a protest. Bekim Fehmiu ended his career because of Kosova and Serbia, he was in the middle. People talked and still talk. They do not doubt his greatness as an actor, but they doubted why he lived in Serbia and why he married a Serbian, while his wife is Croatian and not Serbian. I think he was tired.”

According to Valmir Tertini, actor Bekim Fehmiu has been a misunderstood figure. “Many untrue things have been said. A misunderstanding is why he never played in Albanian. He did not have the opportunity because he was not offered the proper conditions. He has tried in the Kosovan film “When spring is late”. Fehmiu started to make this film, he went to the shooting locations, but others were not serious. He went first to the shooting and no one had gone. He has had giant productions in Italy and Hollywood. Cooperated with Franco Rossi people from Kosova not to come?! If you see the movie, you will love and respect Bekim Fehmi even more. He was the ambassador of the great Albania.”

The documentary brings two exclusive interviews of Bekim Fehmiu’s wife, Branka Petriç Fehmiu. “The first interview brings the whole life from getting together with Bekim to his end. While the second is the opening of the suitcase with Bekim’s memories and items that he used during his life. It has a very emotional narrative, she laughs, she cries, she sings.”Memories and confessions are also brought by other artistic personalities such as Roza Anagnosti, Piro Milkani, Timo Flloko, Enver Petrovci, etc.

The documentary is expected to premiere in Tirana in September and then to travel to various international festivals.

/a.p./