Workers’ Wings

Three Kosovan men who have been injured undertaking labour are the focus of Workers’ Wings.

A 19-minute documentary from Ilir Hasanaj, it presents brief portraits of Fatmiri, Liridoni, and Milazimi – as well as their stories – as a way of bringing attention to people so easily forgotten by society and history. An act of witnessing via patient observation and unobtrusive questioning, Hasanaj’s film is tactile and intimate, managing to evoke the physical nature of its subjects’ lives while never distracting from the factual reality of their situation. The film was one of three winners of the Tiger Shorts competition at this year’s International Rotterdam Film Festival.

“The dream is, obviously, to prosper,” says one of the men, before making an analogy that gives the film its title. He likens the manual labourer struggling to succeed financially to a bird attempting to fly with its wings clipped; it’s impossible to stop trying, but equally as impossible to succeed. However, the result is not an exercise in eliciting pity. Hasanaj’s intention is far more to offer the three men dignity to articulate their stories and experiences, in a world that has precious little time or interest in hearing them.

The film is divided into different sections, with its interviews combined with both footage of the men undertaking gentle physical activities – chopping wood, riding a bicycle – and sequences that immerse the viewer into the process of manufacture. They act as rhythmic interludes that are both contrasting and complementary, reminding the viewer of the vast encompassing industry that cares little for the personal stories that Hasanaj is keen to highlight.

Director, screenplay: Ilir Hasanaj
Cast: Fatmiri, Liridoni, Milazimi
Producers: Arvan Berisha, Ilir Hasanaj
Cinematography, music: Vigan Nimani
Editing, sound design: Enis Saraci
Production company: Unseen Films (Kosovo)
Venue: International Film Festival Rotterdam (Tiger Shorts Competition)
In Albanian
19 minutes