Kosovan entry for Oscars: Unwanted deals with forgiveness and reconciliation

Unwanted is a Kosovian submission for Oscars 2018 in the category Best Foreign Film. It is written and directed by Edon Rizvanolli who lives in Amsterdam and is also an actor. Unwanted is his film debut. Unwanted is a social drama which tells the story of a teenage boy from Kosovo whose name is Alban, played by a Dutch actor Jason De Ridder. He lives in exile in the Netherlands with his mother Zana played by Adriana Matoshi. They both left Kosovo during the Balkan Civil War. Alban starts a relation with a sensitive Ana and the dark memories of the unresolved past rise to the surface. This debut makes us aware of the fact that forgiveness and reconciliation can be very difficult.

The film marks Kosovo’s fourth submission to the Oscars and was produced by Pristina-based 1244 Productions and Dutch company Asfalt Films with the support of the Kosovo Cinematography Center and the Netherlands Film Fund.

Unwanted had its international premiere in July in the East of the West competition at the Karlovy International Film Festival.

The cast:

Adriana Matoshi as Zana
Jason de Ridder as Alban
Niki Verkaar as Ana
Hugo Koolschijn as Rudi

This year record number of 92 films has been submitted for consideration in this year’s foreign-language Oscar race.
Among the first-time entrants are Haiti, Honduras, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mozambique, Senegal, and Syria.

Final final five nominations in the category Best Foreign Film will be announced on January 23. The Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 4 2018 and will be broadcast live to more than 225 countries.

See the trailer here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6864006/videoplayer/vi790739225?ref_=tt_ov_vi

See also: Official website: Jason De Ridder: http://jasonderidder.nl/

Sources: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6864006/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Wikipedia

Images: screen photos of the trailer, Youtube