Mua besoj më shpëtoj portreti

I believe the portrait saved me

Forum Expanded 2025

Twenty-five years after his abduction during the Kosovo War, painter Skender Muja recalls a pivotal moment of survival. During the war’s final months, Muja and many Albanian citizens from Mitrovica were captured while attempting to flee Kosovo. Held in a school repurposed as a detention camp, they faced confinement, fear, and an uncertain fate. One day, the Serbian police commander presented Muja with a chilling ultimatum: to draw his portrait on a blackboard. “If it’s good, you’ll be spared. If not, I can’t guarantee anything,” he warned. Under immense pressure, Muja began sketching, aware that his life depended on his skill. The film alternates between two perspectives: Muja creating the portrait and the anxious faces of his fellow detainees. When the commander approves the drawing, Muja believes it saved his life.
Narrated by Muja, Mua besoj më shpëtoj portreti explores resilience and the profound impact of art in even the most oppressive circumstances.

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by Alban Muja (Director, Screenplay)
with Skender Muja Kosovo / Netherlands 2025 Albanian 10' Colour World premiere | Documentary form

With

Skender Muja

Crew

Director	Alban Muja
Screenplay	Alban Muja
Cinematography	Samir Karahoda
Editing	Enis Saraçi
Producer	Edon Rizvanolli

Produced by

038 Studio

Asfalt Film

Photos

Alban Muja

Alban Muja is a Kosovan visual artist and filmmaker based in Berlin and Prishtina. His work is deeply influenced by the social, political, and economic transformations of the Balkan region, focusing on history, memory, and socio-political themes, while connecting them to contemporary issues in Kosovo. Muja represented the Republic of Kosovo at the 58th Venice Biennale with Family Album, a project exploring displacement and identity. In 2022, he participated in Manifesta 14 in Prishtina.

Filmography

2009 Blue Wall Red Door 2013 Germans Are a Bit Scared of Me 2014 Legendary Dog 2019 Family Album 2021 Why Kamza 2024 Mua besoj më shpëtoj portreti

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2025