UK Premiere, Albania’s Academy Awards 2023 submission
Wheelchair accessible, English subtitles, SDH captions, Pay-what-you-can tickets (£0-£8)
Based on a true story, A Cup of Coffee follows two identical twin brothers, Gezim and Agim, who both have a rare genetic disease which renders them deaf. Now adults living together in a shared apartment, they discover that this disease means that they will both also slowly and irrevocably lose their sight. This revelation leaves them to confront the terrifying prospect of a dark, silent, isolated future.
Content notes: nudity, scenes of a sexual nature.
Curated by Harriet Idle
Trailer
Director’s statement
A CUP OF COFFEE AND NEW SHOES ON is an intimate drama that takes place mostly in an apartment, in urban Tirana. I was fascinated by the idea of making a film that deals with evolving, complex human relationships and a fundamental question: What happens to a person when they are completely immersed into darkness, and communication with the world becomes difficult? The making of this film represented an aesthetic challenge for me; which elements of style should I use and to what extent, while telling the story in a minimalistic, realistic, but dynamic and non-exploitative way? My aim was to create a subtle economy of untold truths between the two brothers and Ana, allowing the story to unfold with its own rhythm, leaving space for poetic and reflective time-spaces, and keeping the audience emotionally involved throughout the development of the drama. The way in which the characters deal with space is one of the most important visual components. The scenes are set mostly in indoor locations, allowing the camera to get closer to the characters, to their psychological condition, and to the evolution of their relationships.
The second equally important component of this film is sound. The main characters communicate in Albanian sign language, which requires an embodied dynamic and energy when they interact with each other and their environment. The harmony of noises and silence represent, what I personally consider, the “music” of the film. In terms of tone and style, I aimed to balance what we see and what we don't see. I wanted the daily routine movements of the characters, their body language, and their tactile sign language to convey strong cinematic emotions.
The collaboration with the Albania National Association of the Deaf (ANAD) was crucial in the making of this film. Representatives from the association taught the three lead actors and the producer, Blerina Hankollari, the Albanian sign language over a 6 month period, to prepare them for the shoot. The same team was on set every day, full-time, to coach the actors and ensure their dialogue was interpreted correctly. We decided to shoot the film in the Albanian sign language (and not in ESL) to pay respect to the deaf community of Albania, which comprises around 39,000 persons.
A CUP OF COFFEE AND NEW SHOES ON addresses, with empathy and dignity, the interpersonal and ethical challenges that impact the life choices of persons with visual and hearing impairments. It is a story of brotherhood, love and communication, which becomes an allegory of the very limits of cinema itself. No image! No sound! No speech!
dIRECTOR’S BIOGRAPHY
Gentian Koçi is a director, screenwriter and film producer from Tirana, Albania. His short films and documentaries have been selected and awarded in many international festivals. He was internationally recognized for his documentary NOT A CARWASH, which world-premiered at Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival and was nominated for the Special Jury Award at Sheffield Doc/Fest in 2012. In 2017, Gentian Koçi presented his first feature film DAYBREAK, which he wrote and directed. The film had its world premiere at Sarajevo International Film Festival in main competition. DAYBREAK was the official Albanian submission for the Academy Awards in 2018.