A communist slogan, a pretty teacher, and one very petty party boss.
Andre starts as a teacher in a remote mountain village in Albania. His first task is to choose one of two communist slogans. He picks the shorter one, which is appreciated by his class, because they have to build the slogan on the hillside using whitewashed rocks. However, this means that the longer slogan goes to Diana, the French teacher to whom Andre is attracted. Andre gets on the wrong side of the communist party boss of the village, when he stands up for an unjustly accused goat herdsman, whom he had befriended. The boss is determined to take his revenge on Andre.
Direction
Xhuvani balances satire and genuine emotional stakes.
Production
Whitewashed rock slogans as actual set pieces.
Director
Gjergj Xhuvani
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot in Albania's remote Diber region, the film captures authentic post-communist village life rarely seen on screen.
The whitewashed slogans are real: Hoxha's Albania famously covered mountains with ideological messages during the 1970s-80s.
AL
