Rafaela Prifti/
Seeing movies about Albania that do not convey the whole story was the motivation that compelled Aneta Mihali Xhiku to start a career in filming which turned out to be her calling. The self-made movie director had her New York premiere of three documentary shorts at the Producers Club last night.
A native of Saranda, the Albanian coastal town by the Ionian sea, Aneta, who is Albanian-American, goes by Neta, an affectionate moniker used by family and friends in Albania. A Biology graduate of the 1986 class of Tirana University, she began her professional career in science and public health far from the limelight of the big screen. Her family migrated to the US in the late 90s. After posting meditations about leaving the US to go back to Albania, she found herself inundated with strong online responses, some very cruel, some supportive and others in between. As a motivational speaker, Neta suddenly understood that she “had touched a nerve” and saw the movie world as a vehicle of the predicament that wasn’t hers alone. The unintentional controversy caused by publicly posting about the reasons she and her husband, Kreshnik, returned to Albania in 2017, after twenty years of a successful career and life in the US, thrusted Neta into the film industry. She may have not known it then, but she had found her element.
Armed with only an iPhone and a passionate commitment to allowing “ordinary people with extraordinary stories” to tell their stories in the hopes of “inspiring her contemporaries and particularly the youth,” Neta embraced the new path that opened up in front of her.
At last night’s premiere, Aneta’s young daughter, Stela, a NYU graduate, presented a short bio of her mother and a brief synopsis of the three shorts. The first two Soul (Shpirti i Mëmës), The Good Seed (Fara e Mire) were in Albanian with English subtitles and Of Whales and Men (Për Balenat dhe Njerëzinë) in English with Albanian subtitles. The 96 year old mother and grandmother (known to every one as Mëma, in local jargon) is a captivating and absolutely unforgettable character, who happened to be living in the same neighborhood as Neta in Saranda. Had she not gone back with her phone camera to record Mëmë Varvara at the house, the audience would never know her story that encapsulates crucial moments and historical figures of Albania’s history. That would have been a profound loss for all of us.
After the screening, Fredi Tolja, owner and founder of Producer’s Club, as many in the audience, was very curious to know more about the discovery of Mëmë Varvara from Vunoi. She has passed away since the recording but is memorialized in Soul by Neta. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As26rNySgLI&t=237s…
The next short The Good Seed was born out of Aneta’s “Roots and Soul”, a 2019 meditation on an immigrant returning to the homeland. Although it risks appearing as a propaganda piece with a rosy view of the country, it is convincingly an authentically human story, free of political nuances, thanks to the genuine family and small business owners of “Lule Rubie” a small Saranda based floral shop. Mother, father and son, Andrea, came back from Switzerland to their hometown but as the young man says on camera “Having made the decision to leave, it is that much harder to decide to go back.”
Of Whales and Men tells the story of a whale-watching operation in Monterey Bay, California. Although far removed from Albania, it is an emotional portrayal of what it is to be human in an interconnected world.
Neta dedicated the first US showing last night to her elderly parents, Katerina and Polo Mihali, originally from Lunxheria, Gjirokastra, now New Jersey residents, who represent the war generation and made huge sacrifices to see Albania prosper yet are living their golden years as immigrants. She said “They taught me to love people, and that is the common thread in my documentaries on my YouTube channel via Neta.”
Neta Mihali Xhiku is the definition of a “one woman show” as she works the camera, directs and produces her works, while constantly raising the bar for the next production. She has been invited to a few international shows around the world while simultaneously working on new projects that have higher resolution photography, stereo audio, sound, industry standard editing and more. Neta spoke with excitement about a submission to Noli Film Festival, https://nolifilmfestival.com/ the first event of its kind for Albanian movies by Albanian filmmakers, to be presented at St. George’s Albanian Orthodox Cathedral in Boston from May 31 to June 2. “I may have been late in getting in this first edition, but I will definitely be there next year, since it is intended to be an annual occurrence” says Neta.
Very close to celebrating her 60th birthday this year, Neta has a fascinating story. The self-taught female film director says that after having a good career and what is considered by society “a normal life”, she is absolutely thrilled to have embarked onto the film industry despite its grueling rhythm and long work hours. At her heart, Neta is a gifted storyteller that allows others to be good storytellers too. So she had set her sights into telling the story of Albania, “the good, the bad and the evil” in her own way with humility, realism and passion, utilizing her immense talent and moved by a devotion of someone who is on a mission. Her family, supporters and friends were at the Producers Club applauding and showering Neta with well-deserved congratulations. She will be releasing eight more documentaries online in the summer expecting to expand the number of the Via Neta audience.