The Return of the Dead Army

Kthimi i ushtrisë së vdekur

58th TIFF: Greek Premiere

Fifteen years after the end of Second World War, two Italians, a colonel and a priest, return to Albania in order to collect and repatriate the bones of their fellow countrymen who died in military operation. Among other things, they discover that an Italian general raped a young woman and was then murdered by her mother. The movie, an adaptation of Ismail Kadare’s classic novel The General of the Dead Army, constructs multiple narratives to expose the horror of war.

Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Direction: Dhimitër Anagnosti

Script: Dhimitër Anagnosti (based on the novel "The General of the Dead Army" by Ismail Kadare)

Cinematography: Bardhyl Martiniani

Editing: Mimoza Nano

Sound: Spiro Konduri

Music: Gjon Simoni

Actors: Bujar Lako, Guljelm Radoja, Roza Anagnosti

Production: Kinostudio “New Albania”

Producers: Bujar Barci

Costumes: Durim Neziri

Sets: Kleo Nini

Format: 35mm

Color: Color

Production Country: Albania

Production Year: 1989

Duration: 100΄

Contact: Albanian Central State Film Archive

Awards/Distinctions: Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Actor – Albanian National FF 1991, Albania

Dhimitër Anagnosti

Dhimitër Anagnosti, born in 1936, is one of the most acclaimed Albanian film directors. He graduated as a film director of photograpy in Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography of Moscow. He started to work as a filmmaker at the Kinostudio “New Albania” in 1961. He is also the writer of the first Albanian color documentary, Gurët dekorativë (Decorative stones). Overall he has directed 14 films and 10 documentaries, and has won many national and international awards. He is also the screenwriter of most of the films he directs.