Tomka dhe shokët e tij
Tomka and His Friends
A group of young boys plot revenge on the Nazi occupiers after their soccer field is turned into a German military camp. Aiding local communist partisans, the industrious children, spy, sabotage and even poison the camps pet German shepherd. Keko and cinematographer Faruk Basha suspensefully frame the story in Albania’s charged atmospheric fortress city of Berat. An immensely popular staple of Albanian television, Tomka and His Friends received a UK theatrical release thirty years after its national premiere.
Director's Biography
Xhanfise Keko
Albanian director Xhanfise Keko (1928-2007) utilized the children’s film genre to express personal concerns not found in the work of her male contemporaries. In the 1950s, Keko studied documentary filmmaking in Moscow. She then spent a decade shooting and cutting newsreels of military parades and communist party conferences. From 1971 to 1984, Keko directed a remarkable run of nearly a dozen features.
Film Selection: Taulanti kërkon një motër (1985) - Një vonesë e vogël (1983) - Kur po xhirohej një film (When Shooting a Film, 1981) - Partizani i vogël Velo (1980) - Tomka dhe shokët e tij (Tomka and His Friends, 1977) - Malësorët pas komisarëve (1976, doc) - Tingujt e luftës (1976) - Qyteti më i ri në botë (The Newest City in the World, 1974) - Mimoza llastica (Spoiled Mimoza, 1973)
Albanian director Xhanfise Keko (1928-2007) utilized the children’s film genre to express personal concerns not found in the work of her male contemporaries. In the 1950s, Keko studied documentary filmmaking in Moscow. She then spent a decade shooting and cutting newsreels of military parades and communist party conferences. From 1971 to 1984, Keko directed a remarkable run of nearly a dozen features.
Film Selection: Taulanti kërkon një motër (1985) - Një vonesë e vogël (1983) - Kur po xhirohej një film (When Shooting a Film, 1981) - Partizani i vogël Velo (1980) - Tomka dhe shokët e tij (Tomka and His Friends, 1977) - Malësorët pas komisarëve (1976, doc) - Tingujt e luftës (1976) - Qyteti më i ri në botë (The Newest City in the World, 1974) - Mimoza llastica (Spoiled Mimoza, 1973)
Spotlight 2019
Xhanfise Keko
Albania 1977
black and white
74 minutes
Albanian OV with English subtitles
Screenplay Nasho Jorgaqi
Cinematography Faruk Basha
Editing Shpresa Papapavllo
Sound/Sounddesign Vangjel Leka
Music Aleksandër Lalo
With Enea Zhegu, Herion Mustafaraj, Genci Mosho, Artan Puto, Fluranc Ilia, Selma Sotillari, Zehrudin Dokle, Xhelal Tafaj
Producer(s) Nikollaq Taja
Production
Kinostudio Shqiperia e re
World Sales
Arkivi Qendror Shtetëror I Filmit
Austrian Premiere
World Premiere
Albania 1977
Weltpremiere / World PremiereAlbanien 1977
Premierenstatus / Premiere Status
Austrian Premiere
