Encounter in the Air

Encounter in the Air is a 2019 Albanian-language drama film written, directed and produced by Ardit Sadiku. The narrative focuses on a broadcast technician and a young man who suffers from mental illness. The young man, desperate to find asylum in a foreign country, hires the broadcast technician to film a video of him discussing his mental condition — in the hopes that the video will convince foreign officials to grant him asylum. The film screened at Tirana International Film Festival.

Plot
Blerim, an employee of a TV station, takes on a highly unusual side gig — one that immerses him in a world of mental illness, paranoia, and blurred reality. Blerim’s colleague introduces him to Drin, an unemployed young man who claims to be mentally ill — despite his neurologist’s belief that his symptoms are merely psychosomatic. Drin, convinced that he must leave his home country in order to become “well,” commissions Blerim to film a video of him discussing his unusual neurological condition — in the hopes that the clip will convince a foreign nation to grant him asylum. Blerim, tasked with shooting the video and somehow convincing his boss to broadcast it on the TV station, finds himself obsessed with the project — to the detriment of his professional and personal relationships.

Cast

 * Herton Meta as Blerim
 * Todi Kasemi as Drin
 * Auron Mimaj as Gëzim
 * Sajmir Pepushaj as Ilir
 * Sebina Matlija as Mira
 * Mirsad Çanga as Albert
 * Gerti Palali as Arbër