Andamion Murataj’s debut feature, titled Man of the House, officially entered production on 15 February. Before embarking on the making of this film, Murataj worked as a co-writer and co-producer on the feature film The Forgiveness of Blood [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film] (2011), directed by Joshua Marston, for which he earned a Silver Bear for Best Screenplay at the Berlinale.

Murataj’s effort centres on Fran, a complex character who, although born a woman, lives the celibate life of a man in the tradition of the Albanian Sworn Virgins. In order to become a mother to her young and motherless niece, Fran has to make the hard choice of either continuing to maintain the status of her “manhood,” or give it all up and reconnect with the feminine maternal feelings that she has been suppressing for so long.

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“My aim is to set in motion a film that tells the heart-wrenching tale of an authentic character, who has to confront her gender identity and undergo tremendous reverse shifts in a rapidly changing Albanian society,” Murataj told Cineuropa.

Man of the House is shooting in and around Tirana. It is the first feature-length project made in co-operation with the newly-funded Tirana Film Office and the Creative Industries Agency of Tirana Municipality. 

After receiving the backing of the Albanian National Center of Cinematography, the production outfit Lissus Media has managed to secure the broadest international collaboration to date for an Albanian film. Italy’s Palomar, Austria’s Ellly Films, Greece’s Akran along with a group of other Balkan companies such as Croatia’s Peglanje Snova, Kosovo’s Thumbs Up and North Macedonia’s Manufactura. The film is also receiving support from Eurimages, and will be one of the first green-certified Albanian productions.