Antoneta Kastrati
Director, Writer, Editor
Antoneta Kastrati is Kosovo-born writer / director, now based in Los Angeles. She is part of the Kosovo New Wave – the first generation of female directors in the country. After surviving the war in the late 1990s, she began making documentary films together with her sister Sevdije, that addressed unexplored issues of post-war society. She was one of eight female directors selected for the Directing Workshop for Women at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. Her thesis short film SHE COMES IN SPRING (2013) premiered at Busan International Film Festival and went on to garner several awards. Her debut feature film, ZANA (2019), premiered at Toronto International Film Festival and was nominated as Kosovo’s entry for the 2020 Oscars. Antoneta was selected as Sydney Film Festival & EFP’s 2020 European women filmmakers to watch. Antoneta is known for her unique filmmaking style, combining gritty authenticity with lyrical beauty.
Awards:
BEST FEATURE FILM “ZANA”, FIC Galdar, Spain
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE “ZANA “, Films Des Femmes, France
JURY GRAND PRIZE, “ZANA”, SEEfest, Los Angeles
BEST FEATURE FILM “ZANA”, Tirana International Film Festival
3SAT BROADCASTING AWARD, “ZANA”, Go East (German Film Institute)
AUDIENCE AWARD, “ZANA”, GoEast Film Festival, (German Film Institute)
KOSOVO OSCAR NOMINATION, Oscars
Best Feature Script “ZANA”, Midpoint Feature Launch, Prague,
BEST SHORT FILM “She Comes in Spring” Albanian Film Week, New York
AUDIENCE AWARD, “She Comes in Spring” Williamsburg International Film Festival,
JENA TOLERANCE AWARD, “She Comes in Spring, Celu L’art Film Festival, Germany
BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM, “The Guardian”, Albanian Film Festival, Albania
SPECIAL JURY MENTION “Ninulla”, Dokufest,
BEST GREEN DOX “The Kingdom of Coal”, Dokufest International Film Festival,
BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM, “Weddings and Diapers” Zagreb Dox Film Festival,
THE YOUNG EUROPEAN AWARD “Lone Wolf”, Skena Up Student International Film Festival,