Smart Film Awards

The project is financed by the Ministry of Culture of Albania and aims to promote the cultural heritage, historical, ethnographic, artistic and cultural values ​​of Albania through the production of short films (10 min) by young people from all over Albania (18-30 years old) using mobile phones.

“Smart Film Awards” (SFA) is a unique festival that promotes the artistic aspect of young people and their attitudes towards positive changes in society. The project finds its motivation in the need that each community feels to recover its identity, through the study and recognition of its roots and traditions. The evolution of society in the last ten years has privileged the development of technology, which today allows us to use it as a tool in the valorisation of historical, cultural and artistic heritage.

Through the knowledge of the territory, the study of local roots and traditions, we aim to stimulate the sense of belonging starting from the origin. Only by sensitizing young people about origins will we have an active, cooperative and aware community.

Through the project young people were trained on how to use smart phones in order to produce a short film, how to write a film’s script and final video and audio editing.

30 short films were submitted and jury of professionals evaluated the works of the young people. At the smart film awards event the 3 winners were announced.

Through this project the ethnography and cultural heritage was presented with innovative forms and contemporary platforms; Through “smart” mobile phones, young people created films with the subject of cultural heritage. Also, the participants learned the importance of cultural heritage and the films that were produced conveyed the problems and needs for the recovery or re-evaluation of monuments of our country.

This project also served as a tool to raise awareness for the protection and development of our cultural identity and tradition.

This whole initiative also served to motivate young people to get involved in artistic and creative activities and programs. The involvement of young people in cultural and artistic activities is also an important aspect of this project. Their interest towards culture was stimulated by guiding them to reflect, communicate and distribute it. The project contributed to the education of new generations to discover our identity, which, at the same time, makes us better able to understand and interact with the changes that will come. Recognizing the realities in its archaeological-architectural-naturalistic and socio-cultural dimension is an important moment as it “reappropriates” its traces, through the reconstruction of the moments that have marked our development over time.