Amnesty (2011 film)

Amnesty
Amnesty
	French film poster
Directed by	Bujar Alimani
Written by	Bujar Alimani
Produced by	Tefta Bejko
Starring	Luli Bitri
Cinematography	Elias Adamis
Release date	February 2011 (Berlin);
Running time	83 minutes
Country	Albania
Language	Albanian

Amnesty (Albanian: Amnistia) is a 2011 Albanian drama film written and directed by Bujar Alimani. The film was selected as the Albanian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards,^[1]^[2] but it did not make the final shortlist.^[3]

Plot

Elsa (Luli Bitri) is a woman with two children, recently unemployed, and living in post-communist Pogradec, Albania in grim circumstances. She is helped by her father-in-law Remzi (Todi Llupi). Her husband is in prison in Tirana for gambling and debt issues. The prison institutes a conjugal visit program, and during her visits she meets and falls in love with another conjugal visit participant Shpetim (Karafil Shena), whose wife is in prison for forging immigration certificates. Elsa becomes friends with Maya (Mirela Naska), whose recent husband is also in prison, and Maya helps Elsa to get a job at a hospital kitchen and a place to live in Tirana. Elsa's increasing independence and relationship with Shpetim creates problems with Remzi. Then a prisoner amnesty where the imprisoned spouses are released early threatens the bond between Elsa and Shpetim.