Her

Directed by: More Raca

Country: Kosovo

Time: 12:14

Synopsis: To escape a marriage arranged by her extremely religious father, a young girl seizes the chance to run away and save more than herself.

You wrote and directed Her. Where did the idea come from?

The idea for making the short film Ajo (Her) came from seeing the problems that many women from developing countries face, countries where women are victims of prejudice and don't have the same rights and treatment as men. Women hide and don't denounce the violence that they face. This is a reality of many women who live in the Balkans. The film is based on many real events about women who finally decide to raise their voices in these developing countries where their rights have been violated because of the patriarchal society and the traditional mindsets. But young women have started to raise their voices and start on the pathway that leads to freedom.

Less is more with this film. What elements make a good short film for you?

In my view, what make a short film good is the truth and the message that it sends to the world.

As a viewer, it almost feels like you're sitting in the car yourself and you're very uncomfortable being there. How do you create that atmosphere? Is it something that occurs during shooting of the film and do you enhance that effect in the editing room?

The relationships between the daughter, mother, father and the son are very clear in the film. The actors that we have chosen fit the characters they play very well. There is no dialogue between them and the drama is created only with their few looks at each other. Their inner emotions reflect their relationships. Very little has been done in the editing room since I have tried to create everything on the film set. From the very beginning, I chose to tell this story with very few cuts and not force the drama with music or editing, or even dialogue. I used silence so that in certain moments, the silence becomes frightening.

There is an implication that the rules of religion for women are made by men. Thoughts?

As long as this is practical in our everyday lives, women will have their basic right violated: the right to be free.

What do you want people to take away from this film?

For those women whom rights are violated: I want this film to give them the courage to change their fate. Other women live in completely different circumstances and are free. I want them to understand life offers another reality.