It is midnight. An 11-year-old boy is observing a big mural containing a woman’s face. A petrified woman runs to him and sits beside him. Seated on the bench in the quiet underpass, somewhere in Ferizaj, they observe each other in silence.

“Shouldn’t you be at home at this time having nice dreams and not checking whether I look like the woman in the picture?” the woman asks.

The bruises on the face of Lena (played by Gresa Pallaska) and Gent (played by Mal Noah Safqiu), that coincide with the symmetry of the mural above their heads, mark the unusual situation of both protagonists. They are both curious to know what the other is doing at that time, but neither tells the truth, allowing the silence to allude to more than words could.

They have more in common than just their scars: Everyday they head the same way, searching for money under the orders of a person that for one is a “husband” and the other is a “father.” Even though they don’t know each other, they share the same fate: living in modern slavery.

Human trafficking is the topic of the latest movie by filmmaker Besim Ugzmajli. “Rruga” (The Path) premiered at the 18th edition of DokuFest International Documentary Short Film Festival last week. Ugzmajli also wrote the script, and besides Pallaska and Safqiu, the film also features Mevlan Saraçi, Milot Salihu and Sherif Bega.

It is not a coincidence that this film is part of DokuFest, whose topic this year is truth. Under the motto “Truths Lies Here,” this year’s DokuFest edition (2-10 August) joined the global discussion on fake news, “on what is the truth and what is a lie and the way this impacts all of us.” It was one of 282 films that were selected to be shown during the nine days of the festival.

“Rruga,” directed by Besim Ugzmajli, premiered at DokuFest in Prizren on August 7. Photo: Besarta Bega and Kushtrim Ugzmajli.

Human trafficking on the big screen

Besim Ugzmajli’s latest film ‘Rruga’ premiered last week in Prizren.

Drenusha Morina

Human trafficking on the big screen

Besim Ugzmajli’s latest film ‘Rruga’ premiered last week in Prizren.

Drenusha Morina