The following description is copyrighted by filma shqipand should be used by no one else except Filma Shqip. During the very early years of the Albanian cinema, public showings appeared in the cities of Korca and Shkodra. Those showings mostly consisted of foreign films; the first Albanian films where mostly documentaries. Actually the first Albanian film ( filma shqip ) was a documentary about the Manastir Congress (which sanctioned the Albanian alphabet back in 1908). During the communist era (after the World War II was over) the communist government established the Albanian Film Institute. In 1952, seven years after its initial creation, the Albanian Film Institute was renamed to “Kinostudio Shqiperia e Re”. Soon after that, the very first Albanian film, “Skenderbeu” was produced. The film is about Albania’s national hero Gjergj Kastriot Skenderbe and its production was a cooperation between Kinostudio Shqiperia e Re and Soviet artists. Noteworthy is the fact that the film Skenderbeu won an award at the Cannes Film Festival. During the following years, the government geared Albania towards producing films rather than importing them. The drastic reduction in the number of imported films was a result of the government’s isolationistic strategy. Thankfully, the rate of production of Albanian films did not decrease; instead, it averaged 8-10 films per year, with this figure increasing to a whopping 14 movies/year during the 1980s. Here, at filma shqip our mission is to provide you with the ability to enjoy the wonderful productions of the Albanian cinematography, for free!