SpIFF to open with a feel for Kosovo

The 2007 Spokane International Film Festival has announced its lineup.

It’s a varied schedule, consisting of feature films from Kosovo, Japan, Switzerland, Great Britain, Canada, Guatemala, Thailand, Austria, Argentina, France, Iran and the U.S., plus shorts from Great Britain, Canada, Indonesia, South Korea, Iraq and the U.S.

The Kosovar film, “Kukumi,” is a film that I saw in October during a seven-week-long stay in Pristina, Kosovo . I suggested it to the festival organizers, especially Leslie Ronald, and they jumped at the chance to screen it.

Mark the dates down on your calendar. Movie events such as this one occur all too seldom in this part of the world. It’s the obligation of those who complain about Spokane provincialism to support the festival and its organizers.

Below: Filmmaker Isa Qosja, seen here in the living room of his home in Pristina, Kosovo, is the director of “Kukumi,” which is scheduled to open the 2007 Spokane International Film Festival.

Photo by Dan Webster