Arta Dobroshi (born 2 October 1980) is a Kosovo-Albanian actress and producer. Dobroshi is the first Kosovan actress to walk the red carpet at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

, the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

and the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

and be nominated for the

European Film Award The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mo ...

. Dobroshi is a former

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

and now a UN Champion and

Goodwill Ambassador Goodwill ambassador is a post-nominal honorific title, a professional occupation and/or authoritative designation that is assigned to a person who advocates for a specific cause or global issue on the basis of their notability such as a public ...

Early life

Arta Dobroshi was born in

Pristina Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians and ...

, to Kosovo Albanian parents. She has been studying the performing arts since elementary school and attended the Academy of Arts acting and drama course in Pristina for four years. She starred in many short films and theatre plays whilst a student there. When Arta was fifteen, she went on a student exchange program to

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, where she starred in drama plays. Dobroshi has a strong work ethic, known to rehearse for a role eight hours or more a day. After her first year at the academy, the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...

escalated and Dobroshi's grandparents were imprisoned by Serbian authorities for trying to open an

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

-language university. In 1999, Serbian soldiers stormed a bar in Pristina and opened fire, killing almost all the customers, including one of Dobroshi's professors at the Pristina Academy of Arts and an actress with whom she was friends. Another friend survived a bullet wound to the head. During this period, Dobroshi was in Macedonia where she was helping set up a refugee camp for the

International Medical Corps International Medical Corps is a global, nonprofit, humanitarian aid organization that provides emergency medical services, healthcare training and capacity building to those affected by disaster, disease or conflict." It seeks to strengthen medi ...

, working with people who had been severely traumatized by the war. When Serbian President

Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević (, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the president of Serbia within Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1997 (originally the Socialist Republic of Serbia, a constituent republic of ...

resigned in October 2000, Dobroshi quit her job at the refugee camp and became a translator for

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Career

After the war period, she took roles in the local theaters and Albanian movies, as well as a leading role in the prize-winning German-Albanian production ''Magic Eye'' (2005), a film about the situation in Albania in 1997, when it was rocked by unrest.Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) jury members announced
Retrieved September, 2010.

''Lorna's Silence''

While in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

doing a play in Bosnian, Dobroshi came into contact with Luc and Jean-Piere Dardenne who offered her an open casting in Kosovo for ''

Lorna's Silence ''Lorna's Silence'' (french: Le Silence de Lorna) is a 2008 drama film by the Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. It was the winner of the 2008 LUX Prize, as well as the Best Screenplay Award at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. Plot Lo ...

''. Two weeks after the casting, Dobroshi was called up by the Dardenne brothers, asking her to go to Belgium to do two scenes in French with

Jérémie Renier (; born 6 January 1981) is a Belgian actor. His film debut was in the critically praised (1996), directed by the Dardenne brothers. He became better known to worldwide audiences in ''Brotherhood of the Wolf'' (2001) and (2005). The latter ...

and Fabrizio Rongione. After learning the two scenes phonetically and after finishing the two days of shooting, she was given the role. She mastered the French language in an eight-week period before shooting. Dobroshi came to international prominence in the Dardenne brothers' film ''Lorna's Silence'' in which she played the title role to great acclaim and received international media attention. The film was awarded in

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

2008. In the same year Dobroshi was nominated for her role, in the Best Actress category, at the

European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the most ...

and at the

Toronto Film Critics Association The Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA) is an organization of film critics from Toronto-based publications. As of 1999, the TFCA is a member of the FIPRESCI. History The Toronto Film Critics Association is the official organization of Toront ...

Awards 2009. "''

'' is her fourth feature and it meant a big jump in her career. International fame and acclamation came altogether, and that gave her global attention". Dobroshi received high praise from the film industry press:

''Baby''

Dobroshi starred in the short film ''

Baby An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

'' by BAFTA winning director

Daniel Mulloy Daniel Mulloy (born 1977) is a British artist and filmmaker. Short films The work of Daniel Mulloy has often been defined by both its starkness and deceptive simplicity. Mulloy's short films have won over one hundred international festival awa ...

. ''Baby'' won the Best Short Film Award when it premièred at the

Edinburgh International Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...

2010 and won Best International Short Film at

Cork Film Festival The Cork International Film Festival, also known as the Cork Film Festival (), is a film festival held annually in Cork City, Ireland. It was established in 1956 as part of An Tóstal An Tóstal (, meaning "The Gathering") was the name for a serie ...

. It was awarded the highly coveted Best Short Film Award at the

British Independent Film Awards The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports and promotes British independent cinema and filmmaking talent in United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early November, ...

Best International Short Film at

Flickerfest Flickerfest is an international short film festival held annually in January at Bondi Beach, Sydney. It is an Academy and BAFTA recognised short film festival for both international and Australian film makers. History The festival originated ...

and will have its US premiere at the

2011. Dobroshi was awarded Best Actress for her role in ''

'' at the 24fps International Short Film Festival

Current works

Dobroshi has completed filming on

Julie Gavras Julie Gavras is a French film director and screenwriter. She is known for her film '' Blame It on Fidel'' (2006). Life and career After graduate studies in literature and law, Julie Gavras turned to cinema. Gavras started as an assistant directo ...

' ''Late Bloomers'' alongside

William Hurt William McChord Hurt (March 20, 1950 – March 13, 2022) was an American actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he received various awards including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award and Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor. ...

and

Isabella Rossellini Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini (born 18 June 1952) is an Italian-American actress, author, philanthropist, and model. The daughter of the Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman and the Italian film director Roberto Rossellini, she is noted ...

. Dobroshi stars in '' Trois Mondes'' which had its première in the 2012

. Dobroshi is working on ''Nëna'', with her director from ''Baby'', Daniel Mulloy. The film is set in Kosovo's capital Pristina. ''Nëna'' will see Arta Dobroshi accept her first role on her home soil for many years. The film, financed by the

UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

, will be shot in the Albanian language and is the first project that Dobroshi will join as producer.

Other work

Dobroshi was a jury member of the 59th

. On 22 December 2008, Dobroshi was appointed by the United Nations Development Programme (

) as a MDG Champion / Goodwill Ambassador for

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

. The UNDP were impressed by her previous charity work and believed that her high-profile would help raise awareness on issues. Dobroshi won the 2017 BAFTA Film Award for producing the refugee film

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

. In 2016, Dobroshi was the lead in the acclaimed

Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. The debut Massive Attack album ''Blue Lines'' was release ...

video Come Near Me.Archived a
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and th
Wayback Machine
Upon receiving the 2017 Gold Lion in

Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity (formerly the International Advertising Festival) is a global event for those working in creative communications, advertising, and related fields. It is considered the largest gathering of the ...

Dobroshi broke protocol to give a powerful message to the world "I am Arta Dobroshi, my nationality is happy and I live in the city called earth".

Filmography

Personal life

Dobroshi can speak

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, French, and can understand Macedonian.

Awards

*''

Shooting Stars Award The Shooting Stars Awards are presented annually by the pan-European network organization European Film Promotion (EFP) to emerging actors from Europe. "Shooting Stars" is an initiative of the EFP for the international promotion and networking of p ...

'' (2013) — at the

*''

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

'' (2013) — European Film Shooting Star by

European Film Promotion European Film Promotion (EFP) is an international promotion organisation and a unique network of 38 national film promotion institutes who represent films and talent from their respective territories. Under the EFP flag, the members team up on ini ...

* Women's International Film and Television Showcase LA 2012, Best Actress AwardWIFTS Award winners
Retrieved January, 2013. *

2008, Nomination as Best Actress *

Toronto Film Critics Association Awards The Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA) is an organization of film critics from Toronto-based publications. As of 1999, the TFCA is a member of the FIPRESCI. History The Toronto Film Critics Association is the official organization of Toront ...

2009, Nomination as Best Actress * Skopje International Film Festival, Best Actress

Notes

References

External links

* * Kirchner, Stephanie (2 March 2009
"Kosovo to Cannes: Arta Dobroshi's Journey to ''The Silence of Lorna''"
''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' * Maher, Kevin (20 November 2008)
"Arta Dobroshi: from Kosovo with grim determination"
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

''. * Shoji, Kaori (23 January 2009)
"Arta Dobroshi: A role model"
''

The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...

''
"Kosovo-born actress Arta Dobroshi nominated MDG Champion"

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

Kosovo. (22 December 2008). * Bramble, Jame
"Arta Dobroshi"
'' Little White Lies''. * Reynaert, Matthieu (14 July 2008)
"interview with Arta Dobroshi • Actress"
''Cineuropa''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dobroshi, Arta 1980 births Living people Kosovan actresses Albanian actresses 21st-century Albanian actresses Yugoslav film actresses Kosovan film producers Albanian film producers