Looking for Venera

This richly observed feature debut by Norika Sefa follows the quiet teenager Venera, growing up in a small village in Kosovo. Living in a crowded, multi-generational household, Venera can rarely find space or privacy. When Venera befriends the spirited Dorina, a new and liberating world opens up to her and she begins to push against the expectations of her conservative patriarchal family. Formally innovative and beautifully shot, the film makes skillful use of closely cropped framing to convey the suffocating environment of Venera’s home life, in this fresh take on the coming-of-age genre.

‘I wanted to tell a story based in Kosovo, but that wouldn’t reproduce the stereotypes for which the country is known abroad. So basically, I didn’t want to show some traditional costumes nor evoke an exotic feeling. I didn’t want the film to exploit the poverty of Balkan countries. However tradition itself is the very core of the story and so is family. I wanted the film to have a lot of layers, but with a focus on relationships. Everything from the outside such as nature, for example, would appear only through the characters. I was curious about what would appear from the development of the characters and how the actors’ interpretation might influence the film.’

Director Norika Sefa, from an interview with Cineuropa.