THE DREAM & THE LIE is Albanian American artist Elena Dorfman’s debut experimental feature film. A visual symphony in three thematically distinct movements, the film is composed of dozens of communist-era Albanian propaganda feature and documentary films from the Albanian National Film Archive. Rarely seen outside of Albania, these propaganda films were made under extreme control and censorship, overseen by the country’s notorious dictator, Enver Hoxha. For over four decades the New Albania Kinostudio was the factory for modern myths, shaping culture and national identity through all genres of film. Throughout THE DREAM & THE LIE visual references to both the dictator (his clapping hands) and actual film production are recurring motifs.
Movement One—”Toka Jonë (Our Land)”—a country besieged by foreign enemies is ultimately victorious; myths and stories that highlight Albania’s glorious and triumphant past; and the construction of a new national identity.
Movement Two—"Horizonte Të Hapure (Open Horizons)”—the arduous transformation from agrarian to industrial through collectivization and forced migration from villages to developing cities; education and women’s rights; love and interpersonal struggles.
Movement Three—”Ballë Për Ballë (Face to Face)”—societal shifts, marital and family issues, ethical challenges, the conflict between individual desire and collective good; and the annihilation of all religions. Simmering disquiet permeates many storylines during the last years of communism.
From 1945 to 1991 Albania closed its borders, allowing very few outsider in. Hoxha knew film was an effective tool to influence (and entertain) his isolated and oppressed population so, in 1952, with the help of the Soviets, he established the New Albania Kinostudio which became a powerhouse of creativity, captivating the hearts and minds of a nation. The state sponsored studio produced an extraordinary array of feature films and documentaries that showcased the talents of passionate Albanian filmmakers, actors and technicians. Every frame was meticulously crafted to glorify the state -- instilling pride and courage to drive enemies from their land; exalting personal sacrifice for the common good; celebrating industrial and agricultural triumphs -- all with the intention to "educate" the people and bolster the cult of personality surrounding Hoxha. Despite its isolation and poverty, the state-sponsored Kinostudio produced an average of thirteen movies a year, often selling 20 million seats annually.
The inherent drama and exotic romance conveyed in these films speaks to the enduring nature of art, with its singular ability to capture ambiguity and eternal themes of human struggle. The tension between art and politics shown in these films continues to raise universal questions regarding the intersection of tyranny and artistic creation.
Today, signs of this tension are everywhere: authoritarian attacks on media; the global rise of nationalism; the proliferation of border walls; aggressive, expansionist advances across numerous continents; the creation and dissemination of fake media posts by well-funded bot farms whose host nations hope to disrupt global culture and politics, and the manipulated realities of AI. In the present-day media environment, it's difficult for global citizens to delineate news from propaganda, spin and lies, and those who are creators are often bound to strict ideological, political and/or cultural limitations.
THE DREAM & THE LIE also recognizes the lives and talents of skilled filmmakers and artists who were committed to crafting beautiful films despite living and working under extremely repressive political conditions.