The Van

a film by Erenik Beqiri

Synopsis
The Van finally stops, the doors open and the Son comes out alive. A few more fights and he will be able to pay his way out of Albania, and hopefully, take his Father with him.

Erenik Beqiri
Erenik studied at the Academy of Arts, Tirana where he graduated with a Master degree in Film Directing. His thesis was Seed Money, a short film written by Jim Uhls (Fight Club). He has participated in the Sarajevo Talent Campus as a Screenwriter, where he developed the short script Reverse which was produced a year later for the Sarajevo City of Film. Reverse collected awards for best film at the Drama ISFF and Cinematic Achievement award at Thessaloniki ISFF. In 2013 he wrote and directed the short film Alphonso which screened in festivals such as Vancouver International Film
Festival and Brussels ISFF. His next short film Bon Appétit was nominated for Méliès D’Argent at Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival selected as one of the Best European Short Films at the Haapsalu Horror and Fantasy Film Festival and has been selected at South East European Film Festival. His films showcase the inner struggles of the characters as they confront with the socio-political space they inhabit, ultimately coming down to unsettling decisions that define them as comic, tragic or grotesque portraits of society.
Erenik currently lives and works in Tirana, Albania.

Filmography
2010 - Seed Money / 19 min / Fiction
2014 - Alphonso / 15 min / Fiction
2016 - Bon Appetit / 18 min / Fiction
2019 - The Van / 15 min / Fiction

Awards and Festivals:

First Prize of Courts for the International - Molise Cinema (Italy)
Best International Short Film Award - Batroun Mediterranean Film Festival (Lebanon)
Best Short Film - Seanema Film Festival (Montenegro)
Winner of Camp Category - Tulipoff International Film Festival (Denmark)
Special Mention - Manaki Brothers International Cinematographers Festival (Macedonia)
Best Short Fiction Film - Urban Films Festival (France)
Best Short Narrative Film Award - Alexandria Film Festival (Egypt)
Jury Award - Paris Court Devant (France)
Best Young Director - Mestre Film Fest (Italy)
Best Short Film - Mestre Film Fest (Italy)
Best Actors - Blue Danube (Austria)
Best Director - IKUSKA Film Festival (Spain)
Best Actor (Phénix Brossard) - Madrid Indie Film Festival (Spain)
Best Director - Sulmona International Film Festival (Italy)
Best International Short Film - Planos Film Festival (Portugal)
Best Editing - Planos Film Festival (Portugal)
Best Directing - Planos Film Festival (Portugal)
Jury Award - Drim Short Film Festival (Macedonia)
Best Fiction Short Film - Short of the Year - Autumn (Spain)
Prix de la Ville - Festival du court-métrage de Fréjus (France)
Award of Recognition - Tulipoff International Film Festival (Denmark)
Best Actor - Aguilar Film Festival (Spain)
Audience Award - My True Story Film Festival (USA)
Young Film Maker Award - Corto Ciudad Real (Spain)
Best Fiction Short Film - Ciudad de Mexico International Film Festival (Mexico)
Best young director - Corto Ciudad Real Film Festival (Mexico)
Best makeup/hairdressing - Ficbueu Film Festival (Spain)
Grand Jury Prize - Les Héraults du Cinéma & de la Télé (France)
Best International Film - Show Me Shorts (New Zealand)
Best Cinematography - Social World Film Festival (Italy)
Best Editing - Sapporo International Short Film Festival (Japan)
Special Jury Award - HollyShorts Film Festival (USA)
Special Mention - Castellinaria - Festival del cinema giovane (Switzerland)
Best Director - SMR13 (France)
Best Young Actor, Special Mention - SMR13 (France)
Best Andaras Noas, New Paths - Andaras Traveling Film Festival (Italia)
Best short film, director and actor (Phénix Brossand) - Certamen de Cortometrajes de Valdealgorfa (Spain)
Best Short Fiction Film - Alpinale Short Film Festival (Autria)
Best International Short Film - 6th Quito International Film Festival (Ecuador)
Best fiction film, best directing, best edition, best sound and best actor (Phénix Brossard) - Arouca Film Festival (Spain)
Grand jury prize, Best editing - 24fps International Film Festival (USA)
RAI Cinema Channel Award - Cinelido - Festa del Cinema Italiano(Italy)
Best Short Film - Annual Aarhus Film Festival (Denmark)

Festivals
Cannes Film Festival (France) - Official Competition
Off-courts (Trouville) - in competition
Fenêtres sur courts (France) - in competition
Sarajevo Film Festival (Bosnia) - in competition
Melbourne International Film Festival (Australia) - in competition
Tirana International Film Festival (Albania) - in competition
Humano Film Festival (Mexico) - in competition
Festival CINEAST (Luxembourg) - in competition
Festival of Mediterranean Short Film of Tangier (Morocco) - in competition
International Festival Signs of the Night (France) - in competition
International Mediterranean Film Festival of Montpellier (France) - in competition
International Francophone Film Festival of Namur (Belgium) - in competition
Festival des Films Courts de Dinan (France) - in competition
Tetova International Film Festival - ODA (Macedonia) - in competition
Long Memory short films - Ascoli Piceno (Italy) - in competition
West Nordic International Film Festival (Norway) - in competition
Auch short film festival (France) - in competition
Festival du Film de Sarlat (France) - in competition
Festival Curta Cinema (Brazil) - in competition
Les Arcs Film Festival (France) - in competition
Festival Internacional de Cine de Almería (Spain) - in competition
Seminci Valladolid International Film Festival (Spain) - in competition
UK Film Festival (United Kingdom) - in competition
Soria International Film Festival (Spain) - in competition
Curtas Film Fest (Spain) - in competition
FICVI Festival de Internacional de Curtmetratges Vila-Seca (Spain) - in competition
International Short Film Festival of the Bay of Pasaia, IKUSKA (Spain) - in competition
Braunschweig International Film Festival (Germany) - out of competition
Savona International Film Event (Italy) - in competition
Images en vues (Canada) - in competition
Aguilar Film Festival (Spain) - in competition
Arranca Thelma (Spain) - in competition
International Usak Winged Seahorse Short Film Festival (Turkey) - in competition
Rencontres Du Cinéma Européen de Vannes (France) - in competition
Pendance Film Festival (Canada) - in competition
Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival (France) - in competition
Fribourg International Film Festival (Switzerland) - in competition
Landshut Short Fim Festival (Germany) - in competition
International Film Festival of Aubagne - Music&Cinema (France) - in competition
Traversées - Le Festival de Cinéma du Pays de Lunel (France) - in competition
Muestra International de Cine de Palencia (Spain) - in competition
Festival du Cinéma Européen de Lille (France) - in competition
Festival Mamers en Mars (France) - in competition
Torino Underground Cinefest (Italy) - in competition
Regard sur le Court-Métrage au Saguenay (Canada) - in competition
Busan International Short Film Festival (South Korea) - in competition
Festival Européen du Court-Métrage of Bordeaux (France) - in competition
Festival Courts d’un soir of Montreal (Canada) - in competition
Brussels Short Film Festival (Belgium) - in competition
BlueCat Short Film Festival of Los Angeles (USA) - in competition
Festival La Nuit Brève (France) - in competition
Huesca International Film Festival (Spain) - in competition
Festival La Guarimba of Amantea (Italy)
17th In The Palace International Short Film Festival (Varna, Bulgaria) - in competition
OFF - Odense International Film Festival (Denmark) - in competition
Princeton Independant Film Festival (USA) - in competition
Lago Film Fest (Italy) - in competition
Social World Film Festival (Italy) - in competition
Maremetraggio Shorts International Film Festival (Italy) - in competition
International Film Festival Dr. Mabuse (Spain) - in competition
13th Mediterranean Film Festival (Croatia) - in competition
Ciudad de Mexico International Film Festival (Mexico) - in competition
Festival International du Film de Nancy (France) - in competition
Sapporo Film Festival (Sapporo, Japan) - in competition
Annual Aarhus Film Festival (Aarhus, Denmark) - in competition
Show me Shorts Film Festival (New Zealand) - in competition
Hérault du Cinema et de la télé Film Festival (France) - in competition
FICBUEU Film Festival (Spain) - in competition
Vivarais Cinema Festival (France) - in competition
Balkan Beyond Borders (Greece) - in competition
"Courts d’un soir" Montreal International Short Film Festival (Canada) - in competition
Adriatic Film Festival (Italy) - in competition
La Nuit Brève Festival (France) - in competition
Corti Da Sogni International Short Film Festival (Italy) - in competition
Winterthur International Short Film Festival (Switzerland) - in initial competition at Fribourg International Film Festival
Dr Mabuse Mostra de Curtmetratges (Spain) - in competition
HollyShorts Film Festival (USA) - in competition
Reggio Film Festival (Italy) - in competition
SMR13 International Independant Film Festival (France) - in competition
Festival du Film Court en Armagnac (France) - in competition
InterFilm International Short Film Festival Berlin (Germany) - out of competition
Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel International Film Festival (India) - in competition
Castellinaria Festival del Cinema Giovane (Switzerland) - in competition
Winter Apricots - Prilep International Film Festival (Macedonia) - in competition
Oslo Independent Film Festival (Norway) - in competition
Alpinale Short Film Festival (Austria) - in competition
RIFFA Regina International Film Festival and Awards (Canada) - in competition
Zsigmond Vilmos International Film Festival (Hungary) - in competition
6th Quito International Film Festival (Ecuador) - in competition
Un Court Tournable Fetival (France) - in competition
Soo Film Festival (USA) - in competition
Filmfest Weiterstadt (Germanie) - in competition
Linz International Short Film Festival (Austria) - in competition
Provinziale Filmfest (Germany) - in competition
Arouca Film Festival (Portugal) - in competition
Himachal Short Film Festival (India) - in competition
Zaporizhzhia International Film Festival (Ukraine) - in competition
Skiptown Playhouse Film Festival (USA) - in competition
CREATE : Flash Film Fest (USA) - in competition
Lublin Film Festival (Poland) - in competition
Tournai Ramdam festival (Belgium) - in competition
Festival RENUAC (Chile) - in competition
Festival RNAB (Brazil) - in competition
Ivrea Film Screening - in competition
Bucharest International Short Film Festival - in competition
Star Film Festival (Argentina) - In competition
Satisfied Eye International Film Festival (United Kingdom) - In competition

Download the press kit HERE