Synopsis

“Three other women and I were raped while our men were away!” Lushe breaks her silence after a long time and talks to a foreign journalist about her fate in the Balkan war. She has good reason to do so anonymously. As soon as the conservative men of her village in Kosovo hear things that disturb their chauvinistic romance, there is bound to be massive trouble. Then the men, led by the mayor, climb the barricades. The fear of the shame that one’s own wife might have been a victim of rape is ever present. The general rule is to suppress and hush up the past instead of facing it. When word comes out that Lushe shared the truth, she is accused of being a liar. Even worse: She faces banishment from the village. Thus, it is not the actual crime that is in the centre of Isa Qosja’s visually intense and captivating drama. The question of guilt is irrelevant. Rather, the important process of coming to terms with irreversible events is what stands in the focus, as well the women who are victims twice over in this rural patrimony where the man’s honour ranks far above a woman’s well-being. “The most accomplished feature film to come out of Kosovo since Yugoslavia fell apart” (Cineuropa).

Guests

Isa Qosja

Director Kukumi
Director Three Windows and a Hanging

Mentor Shala

Producer Three Windows and a Hanging