Blerta Basholi

Kosovan writer, director and producer.

Blerta Basholli has written and directed short films and documentaries while studying and later working with local film production companies. Pursuing the desire to make films she also worked as an assistant, managing humanitarian projects.

Hive is Basholli’s directorial debut, starring Yllka Gashi, Çun Lajçi and Aurita Agushi.

It premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 31, 2021 and became the first film in Sundance history to win all three main awards – the Grand Jury Prize, the Audience Award and the Directing Award – in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition.

It was selected as the Kosovan entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards. The film had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 31, 2021 in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section.

On September 8, 2021, Zeitgeist Films and Kino Lorber acquired the film’s U.S. distribution rights and set it for a November 5, 2021 theatrical release in the United States.

Hive (Albanian: Zgjoi) is a 2021 award-winning true story of resilience and hope.

Fahrije’s husband has been missing since the war in Kosovo, and along with their grief, her family is struggling financially. In order to provide for them she launches a small business, but in the traditional patriarchal village where she lives, her ambition to empower herself and other women is met with hostility.

Bold and honest, HIVE is a powerful tribute to everyday women who quietly change lives.