The Beauty Of The Donkey
2025 | 77' | Documentary
A film director and her father, exiled for over sixty years from Kosovo, return to Makermal, his village of birth, to recreate his childhood memories, confronting together the myths of a homeland she’s never known, within a landscape transformed by war. Their collaboration with villagers to resurrect the pre-war era uncovers harrowing truths, including the mysterious disappearance of the director’s grandmother. Their journey of reconnection revives Kosovo of the 1950s and underscores the community’s resilience, bound by oral stories as the sole remnants of a vanished physical past.
CREDITS
| Director | Dea Gjinovci |
| Written by | Dea Gjinovci |
| in collaboration with | Asllan Gjinovci |
| Produced by | Dea Gjinovci, Palmyre Badinier |
| Co-Produced by | Ilir Hasanaj, Emma Leppers |
| Production by | Astrae Productions (CH), Unseen (RKS), |
| Main Cast | Asllan Gjinovci, Leart Gjinovci |
| Camera | Maxime Kathari |
| Editing | Lizi Gelber |
| Music | Gael Kyriakidis |
| Production Design | Aurélia Martin, Jesse Wallace, Armand de Benoist de Gentissart |
| Costumes |
Njomza Haziraj |
| World Sales |
First Hand Films |
| Line Production |
Valmira Hyseni, Fis Cahani |
| Production Coordinator | Besart Mehmeti |
| Production Assistant | Ana Morina, Korab Mala, Shkelqim Talla, Erlise Beqiri |
| Assistant Director | Aliosha Cheyko, Kit Vincent, Ilir Hasanaj, Giacomo Belotti Lazzari, Alba Çakalli |
FESTIVALS
| Switzerland, Zurich | Zurich Film Festival – Documentary Competition – 26th Sep 21:00 |
| USA, Chicago | Chicago International Film Festival – Doc. Competition |
| Czechia, Jihlava | Ji.hlava Int. Documentary FF – Opus Bonum Competition – Best Sound Design |
AWARDS
Jury Statement from Ji.hlava:
If you listen carefully you can always hear the sounds of the past echoing in our present – whether it’s the hammering of construction work for buildings that have long ago been torn down, the chatter of children now become adults, or the long silences that follow bursts of gunfire. Reflecting the high production values on display throughout this deeply personal yet ambitious work of family history, the Award for Best Sound Design goes to Henry Sims for director Dea Gjinovci’s THE BEAUTY OF THE DONKEY.