Joni Shanaj, the writer and director of Pharmakon, his debut feature film and of one of Albania’s most distinctive, unconventional and remarkable features of the last two decades. Albanian Entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards 2013. Award of Merit, Lucerne International Film Festival, 2013. Best Actress, Levante International Film Festival, 2013. Joni Shanaj has a past in documentary film and a background as a social-anthropologist, teaching both Social-Anthropology and Film Directing at the University Of Tirana. Joni Shanaj holds an MA in Social-Anthropology from the University of Lund, Sweden and a BA in Filmmaking from Skurups Högskola, Sweden. He works as an independent filmmaker, editor, script consultant and producer of non-commercial cinema.
Albania