Mua besoj më shpëtoj portreti

Twenty-five years after his abduction during the Kosovo War, painter Skender Muja recalls a pivotal moment of survival. During the war’s final months, Muja and many Albanian citizens from Mitrovica were captured while attempting to flee Kosovo. Held in a school repurposed as a detention camp, they faced confinement, fear, and an uncertain fate. One day, the Serbian police commander presented Muja with a chilling ultimatum: to draw his portrait on a blackboard. “If it’s good, you’ll be spared. If not, I can’t guarantee anything,” he warned. Under immense pressure, Muja began sketching, aware that his life depended on his skill. The film alternates between two perspectives: Muja creating the portrait and the anxious faces of his fellow detainees. When the commander approves the drawing, Muja believes it saved his life.
Narrated by Muja, Mua besoj më shpëtoj portreti explores resilience and the profound impact of art in even the most oppressive circumstances.