Arta Dobroshi

Arta Dobroshi
Born Arta Dobroshi
2 October 1980
Pristina, SFR Yugoslavia (modern Kosovo)[a]
Occupation Actress
Years active 2005–present

Arta Dobroshi (born 2 October 1980)[1] is a Kosovar actress, often cited for her striking presence and ability to breathe authentic life into the roles she plays.[2] She is the first Kosovar actress in history to walk the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival,[3] the Berlin Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival[4] and be nominated for the European Film Award.

Early life

Arta Dobroshi was born in Pristina, SFR Yugoslavia to Kosovo Albanian parents. She has been studying the performing arts since elementary school[5] and attended the Academy of Arts acting and drama course in Pristina for four years.[6] She starred in many short films and theatre plays whilst a student there. When Arta was fifteen, she went on a student exchange program to America, where she starred in drama plays.[6] Dobroshi has a strong work ethic, known to rehearse for a role eight hours or more a day.[6] After her first year at the academy, the Kosovo War escalated and Dobroshi's grandparents were imprisoned by Serbian authorities for trying to open an Albanian-language university.[5] In 1999, Serbian soldiers stormed a bar in Pristina and opened fire, killing almost all the customers, including one of Dobroshi's professors at the Pristina Academy of Arts and an actress with whom she was friends.[3] Another friend survived a bullet wound to the head. During this period, Dobroshi was in Macedonia where she was helping set up a refugee camp for the International Medical Corps, working with people who had been severely traumatized by the war.[3][5] When Serbian President Slobodan Milošević resigned in October 2000, Dobroshi quit her job at the refugee camp and became a translator for NATO.[5]

Career

After the war period, she took roles in the local theaters and Albanian movies, as well as a leading role in the prize-winning German-Albanian production Magic Eye (2005), a film about the situation in Albania in 1997, when it was rocked by unrest.[7]

Lorna's Silence

While in Sarajevo doing a play in Bosnian, Dobroshi came into contact with Luc and Jean-Piere Dardenne who offered her an open casting in Kosovo for Lorna's Silence.[6] Two weeks after the casting, Dobroshi was called up by the Dardenne brothers, asking her to go to Belgium to do two scenes in French with Jérémie Renier and Fabrizio Rongione. After learning the two scenes phonetically and after finishing the two days of shooting, she was given the role.[6] She mastered the French language in an eight-week period before shooting.[5]

Dobroshi came to international prominence in the Dardenne brothers' film Lorna's Silence in which she played the title role to great acclaim and received international media attention. The film was awarded in Cannes 2008.[2] In the same year Dobroshi was nominated for her role, in the Best Actress category, at the European Film Awards[8] and at the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2009.[9]

"Lorna's Silence is her fourth feature and it meant a big jump in her career. International fame and acclamation came altogether, and that gave her global attention".[10]

Dobroshi received high praise from the film industry press:

"The radiant Dobroshi illuminates her physical and moral struggles with grit, conviction and a grace that shines all the more brightly amid the gloomy world from which it springs. Lorna may be lost, but here is an actress who, at every turn, knows exactly what she's doing." Variety (28 Aug. 2008) [11]

Baby

Dobroshi starred in the short film Baby by BAFTA winning director Daniel Mulloy. Baby won the Best Short Film Award when it premièred at the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2010[12] and won Best International Short Film at Cork Film Festival.[13] It was awarded the highly coveted Best Short Film Award at the British Independent Film Awards[14] Best International Short Film at Flickerfest[15] and will have its US premiere at the Sundance Film Festival 2011. Dobroshi was awarded Best Actress for her role in Baby at the 24fps International Short Film Festival[16]

Current works

Dobroshi has completed filming on Julie Gavras' Late Bloomers alongside William Hurt and Isabella Rossellini.

Dobroshi stars in Trois Mondes which will have its première in the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.[17]

Dobroshi is working on Nëna, with her director from Baby, Daniel Mulloy. The film is set in Kosovo's capital Pristina. Nëna will see Arta Dobroshi accept her first role on her home soil for many years. The film, financed by the UNDP, will be shot in the Albanian language and is the first project that Dobroshi will join as producer.[18]

Other work

Dobroshi was a jury member of the 59th Berlin International Film Festival.[7]

On 22 December 2008, Dobroshi was appointed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a MDG Champion / Goodwill Ambassador for Kosovo.[19] The UNDP were impressed by her previous charity work and believed that her high profile would help raise awareness on issues.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2013 Mitrovica[20]
2013 A Cold Day[21]
2012 Trois Mondes Vera
2012 Nëna Fatmire
2011 Late Bloomers Maya
2011 Baby Amira Best Actress Award 24fps International Short Film Festival
2008 Lorna's Silence (Le Silence de Lorna) Lorna Best Actress Nomination European Film Award
Best Actress Nomination Toronto Film Critics Association Awards
Best Actress Nomination Cannes Film Festival
2007 Vera Artan Minarolli Vera
2006 The Sadness of Mrs. Snajdrova (Smutek paní Snajdrové) Ema
2005 Magic Eye (Syri magjik) Viola Skopje Film Festival Best Actress

Personal life

Dobroshi can speak Albanian, English, French, and can understand Macedonian.[6]

Awards

Notes

a.   ^ Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Kosovo. The latter declared independence on 17 February 2008, but Serbia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory. Kosovo's independence has been recognised by 108 out of 193 United Nations member states.

References

  1. ↑ IMDB Retrieved November, 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sander, Daniel (29 September 2008). "Die Grenzenlose" (in German). Spiegel Online. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Kirchner, Stephanie (2 March 2009). "Kosovo to Cannes: Arta Dobroshi's Journey to The Silence of Lorna". Time Magazine. Retrieved 2012-04-20.
  4. ↑ Koha (19 January 2011). "Arta Dobroshi Competes at Sundance Film Festival". New Kosova Report. Retrieved 2012-04-20.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Shoji, Kaori (23 January 2009). "Arta Dobroshi: A role model". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 "Interview - Arta Dobroshi". philonfilm. 30 November 2008. Retrieved 2012-04-21. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) jury members announced Retrieved September, 2010.
  8. ↑ Nominations for the European Film Awards 2008 Retrieved October 2010.
  9. ↑ Toronto Film Critics Awards 2009 Nominations Retrieved September 2010.
  10. ↑ FIPRESCI Berlin IFF Article 4 para 1 Retrieved September 2010.
  11. ↑ Variety Arta Dobroshi Retrieved September 2010.
  12. ↑ Edinburgh Award Winners 2010 Retrieved September, 2010.
  13. ↑ Irish Times Retrieved November, 2010.
  14. ↑ British Independent Film Awards - Nominations announced on Awards Daily Retrieved November, 2010.
  15. ↑ BABY wins at Flickerfest 2011 in Sydney, Australia Retrieved April, 2012
  16. ↑ IMDB Retrieved April, 2012]
  17. ↑ Cannes Film Festival Retrieved May, 2012.
  18. ↑ Xharra Loxha, Lyra (11 January 2012). "Arta Dobroshi accepts lead in Nëna and takes on role of producer". Daniel Mulloy. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
  19. ↑ Arta Dobroshi announced as UNDP MDG Champion for Kosovo Retrieved September, 2010.
  20. ↑ Sundance Institute Retrieved January 2012.
  21. ↑ Screen Daily Retrieved January 2012.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Arta Dobroshi - Shooting Star 2013". Retrieved 2012-12-14.
  23. ↑ WIFTS Award winners Retrieved January, 2013.

External links