directed by Gentian Koçi, social drama, 85 min, eng subtitles, 16+
written by Gentian Koçi
with Ornela Kapetani, Kasem Hoxha, Suzana Prifti
A young single mother, Leta, has not been able to pay the rent for several months. She and her one-year old son are thrown out of their apartment and Leta finds herself on the brink of homelessness and despair. She moves in with a bedridden elderly woman, Sophie, whose daughter is married and lives abroad, hiring Leta as her mother’s carer in her absence. But, in order to keep her job and a roof over her head, Leta has to keep Sophie alive at any cost. Daybreak is the feature debut of the Albanian director Gentian Koçi, which premiered in the official competition of the Sarajevo Film Festival this summer. This realistic, intimate drama depicts the fragile relationship between two women, a relationship oscillating between empathy and pragmatic aims. It also pictures a poor and corrupt society which turns a blind eye to the suffering of its most vulnerable members, people struggling in their day-to-day existence due to economic uncertainties.