Fisnik Maxhuni
Lost Exile, Fisnik Maxhuni (2016)
Born in Kosovo during the dismantlement of Yugoslavia, in 1993 Fisnik Maxhuni illegally emigrated with his family to Switzerland, where he now resides. He received his Bachelor's degree in International Relations in Geneva, then purused his Masters in Geopolitics, Security and Territory at King's College London. During his time in Japan, Indonesia, Argentina, and Bolivia, Maxhuni shot several films blending fiction, documentary and experimental approaches. A recent graduate of ECAL's Master in Cinema and the directing program HEAD (Geneva), Maxhuni completed two films, Culture and Tropics and Ministarstvo Sjećanja, shot in collaboration with Béla Tarr in Sarajevo. His graduation film, Lost Exile, premiered at the Locarno International Film Festival, where it won a Junior Jury Award - Leopards of Tomorrow; Tirana, where it won a Jury Award; and Delhi Shorts International Film Festival, where it won Best Film.
Fisnik Maxhuni participated in an exclusive interview with Filmatique as part of Talents 2020.
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FILMATIQUE: Lost Exile traces the intersecting trajectories of Emir, a Serbian smuggler, and Hana, a Kosovar woman eager to make it across the border to Europe. The film's tension derives not only from a clandestine journey the two characters reluctantly make together, but also from the fact that, as an attractive woman, Hana is immediately identified by Emir's employers as more valuable inside a prostitution ring. How did you conceive of these characters, and what motivated you to explore the topic of migration through a narrative lens rather than, say, a documentary format?
FISNIK MAXHUNI: In fact, the question of whether make a documentary or fiction film never crossed my mind: I grew up with VHS tapes of famous films and thus, until the age of 24, a film was necessarily a fiction object. But also, since the subject of Lost Exile is still a hot and current topic, I wanted to treat it as a fiction film, in order to avoid being judged on the accuracy of the theme. I wrote the original story after having spent months with people—mostly women—on the roads that lead to their imagined paradise: Europe. But it was very important that the script—and the final film—have an original take on the subject, thus the idea to concentrate on two characters, at opposite ends of the scope.
Of course, as the subject of illegal immigration is intimately linked to my own personal story, I had to appropriate the subject and make it match with my own vision of cinema. And that's basically my vision of cinema: there is no film if there is no personal take on the subject(s) you're dealing with. This might be a very "European" way of seeing cinema, but I also believe that today's best Hollywood and American productions have an original point of view that comes directly from the director's vision (examples of Beach Rats, You Were Never Really Here, Dallas Buyers Club, Blade Runner 2049 all come to mind). This vision doesn't only apply to fiction films. I also made three documentaries in the last three years, and I have instilled a sort of "personal vision" in all of them.
FLMTQ: You remark in your director's statement that your own family's migration from Kosovo in 1993 served as a touchstone for the film—despite key differences, like your parents' inability to research such a trip with present technologies, many aspects remain the same between then and now. Can you elaborate on your inspiration for telling this story, and how your personal experiences both related to and diverged from the world we see onscreen?
FM: I believe a director's choice of a subject ultimately comes down to something visceral that the director needs to talk about. It is a tough process to spend years researching, writing, directing and promoting a film, so it better be something that makes you want to continue the process until it's over. Lost Exile is intimately linked to my own history—20 years later, I noticed that people were still eager to take tremendous risks to get to Europe, but also that the situation had changed. And when I started to research the topic in 2014, I saw that the risks were somehow greater, because of the fact that there were so many new elements in the process of illegal immigration.
In particular, I got to know several women who were at different stages of their immigration plans: some were still thinking about it from Kosovo, some were already on the road but had been caught up in prostitution rings, and some were already settled in Europe, and while different their stories had some similar aspects. That is why the main subjects I deal with in Lost Exile are those of abandonment (of the home country), the uncertainty of immigration and finally and the disenchantment of a new life. All of this encapsulated in the trajectory of Hana, my main character. But also, from the perspective of Emir, the driver, being caught up with less scrupulous individuals was a dear subject to me, as he is finally also a victim of the whole process of illegal immigration.
Lost Exile, Fisnik Maxhuni (2016)
FLMTQ: The film is anchored in strong, naturalistic performances by Arben Bajraktaraj and May-Linda Kosumovic. What was your casting process like for this film, and how did you work with the two actors to bring their characters to life?
FM: During the research process, I was several times tempted to make a documentary about the subject since I had so many protagonists at hand. But ultimately, I conducted a casting in order to portray my characters. And when I found Arben and May-Linda, I depended on their ability to nourish my ideas with their own. There lies my approach to fiction: no matter the script you have written and the images you have in mind, you have to let yourself get inspired and influenced by the actors. On the one hand, May-Linda was able to inspire me further as she herself herself thinking of leaving Kosovo (for various reasons) and therefore was able to guide me to a place in the script that sounded more "true" to the theme. On the other hand, Arben was an exceptional actor to have for this part as his personal story was also linked to the subject: he fled Kosovo during the war, and was stranded for years in Croatia and Slovenia before making it to France and pursue a career in acting. From this personal trajectory, he was also an actor that could easily switch between languages and inform me on particularities of the places and the languages in the film. During the whole process of shooting the film, I was therefore very lucky to have them on board as they were constantly coming up with suggestions in the dialogue. And I believe that being in close touch with your actors can only make your film better.
FLMTQ: Migration remains one of the most salient issues of our time, especially in Europe, as ordinary people increasingly choose or are forced to abandon their homelands in search of a better life. Yet one aspect of Lost Exile that is so striking is when Hana finally arrives in Hungary—she simply leaves Emir and walks through a parking lot. Rather than the catharsis one might expect, there's a certain banality to this denouement, underscoring the reality that her journey is far from over. How do you see the issue of migration for those who have successfully arrived? What, in your opinion, are the main obstacles such individuals face in their adopted countries?
FM: Originally, I wrote and shot a feature film. At the last minute—for several reasons—I decided to make it into a short film and then got to present it at the fabulous Locarno Film Festival where the film went on to win a Jury Prize. However, the "feature version" had the same ending: after this long and arduous trip, Hana simply walks through a tunnel in search of her destiny. At the core of the character lies the realization that by simply undertaking this dangerous adventure, she achieved a personal challenge. Maybe during the process of crossing borders and having to defend herself against the perils of immigration, she proved to herself that she is a courageous and strong-willed woman.
I also view (good) films as being able to create a world in which there are borders: whatever is outside those borders is not relevant to the film (examples: Never Rarely Sometimes Always and The Shape of Water). The borders need to be psychological and geographical. In Lost Exile, I did not want to develop Hana further, because her life in Hungary was another chapter, another world. I stayed with Emir because he was the one that had to return to his life with the consequences of having disobeyed his bosses. Therefore, I believe that there would be a very beautiful film to be made about the new life of Hana, but I wanted to keep Lost Exile as a world in itself. Cinema can make you penetrate a world for 30 minutes or two hours, but this adventure needs to be exceptional in order for you to take interest in it.
Lost Exile, Fisnik Maxhuni (2016)