THE HILL WHERE LIONESSES ROAR

A village somewhere in Kosovo, a hill above the houses, where three young women spend their days. Qe (Flaka Latifi), Jeta (Urate Shabani) and Li (Era Balaj) wait for word from the university that is meant to free them from confinement, but the acceptance never comes, and around them a life is laid out for women that they do not want. So they take what no one gives them: boredom and anger turn into a gang, pranks turn into thefts, and with every job the line moves further. “The Hill Where Lionesses Roar” by Luàna Bajrami, Kosovo/France 2021, is a story of rebellion whose summer light does not conceal the harshness of the starting point.

Bajrami, known as an actress from “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”, wrote, directed, produced and co-edited the film at the age of twenty; she herself appears in a supporting role. It premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes in 2021, where the film was nominated for the Queer Palm; it later screened, among other places, in Toronto. “The Hill Where Lionesses Roar” was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2021.

Shown at the 2021 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.

All films 2021 · Film Archive