DIRECTOR BIOGRAPHY - Fatmir Koçi

Fatmir Koçi is an Albanian filmmaker, screenwriter and producer, born in Tirana in 1959. He studied theatre at the Academy of Fine Arts in Tirana before pursuing film directing at Kinostudio “Shqipëria e Re”, where he completed postgraduate studies in directing. He began his professional career in the 1980s and emerged as one of the important voices of the new generation of Albanian filmmakers following the end of the communist era. Koçi has directed fiction films, documentaries and short films, often focusing on contemporary Albanian society, social realities and the country’s complex historical and political transformations. His feature films include Nekrologji (1994), Tirana Year Zero (2001), The Time of the Comet (2008/2009), Amsterdam Express (2014), Elvis Walks Home (2017), The Rise and Fall of Comrade Zylo (2022), and Lady D (2025). His films have been presented and recognized at major international festivals. Nekrologji received a Special Mention at the Montreal Film Festival, while Tirana Year Zero was selected for the Cinema del Presente section of the Venice Film Festival and won the Golden Alexander at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival in 2001. Koçi is also a co-founder of the Marubi Film and Multimedia School, established in 2004 as the first film school of its kind in Albania. Through both his filmmaking and educational work, he has played an important role in the development and international visibility of contemporary Albanian cinema.