In memory of the operator Petraq Lubonja (1929-1981)!

Petraq Lubonja (1929-1981) Albanian film operator of Kinostudio "New Albania" He was born in Korce in 1929. In 1950 he graduated from the "Jordan Misja" artistic high school for painting in Tirana and then won a scholarship for cameraman in the two-year course at the Central Studio of Documentary Films in Moscow. After returning to Albania, he started working in the crowd department at Kinostudio "Shqiperia e Re", contributing as one of the first formulators of logos, subtitles, covers and drawings in documentary and documentary films. Also at this time, precisely in 1959, he attended another specialization course for combined frames (tricks) at the cinematographic studio DEFA in the German Democratic Republic. Passion and talent for film photography, tireless work in this direction make him one of the most famous in Albanian cinematography. Petraq Lubonja has shot not only documentaries and chronicle films but also several feature films. In 1967, he shoots the first feature film for him, "Silent Duel", where the rich graphics, the contrasts of the plans, the dynamics, the use of light with clear functions in the hero's digressions and imaginings stand out. Another film where his photography stands out, is the one in "Stars of the Long Nights", with an epic-dramatic style, with plans embedded in the portraits of the actresses, plan-details, as well as other plans, within a "stacism" with clear aesthetic functions. Similar to this visual paradigm is that of the other film "Operation fire", except now, in addition to working with the portrait, movement in open natural environments has been given expression, finding the rhythm and space required for the film action. His career manages to achieve cinematic effects in the movie "Why does this drum beat", among others, thanks to the deformations in the portraits, by commodifying the filmic image in treatments and superpositions with figurative and emotional purposes. Free and cheerful is the photography in the musical film "Carnivals", remarkable in following the psychological process of the film "When a film was being shot", often lyrical and narrative in the other film "Tinguj te luftes", while sweet and poetic in that "River of Light", among other things, winner of the special prize as cameraman at the first Albanian Film Festival. His photography is full of fantasy and a variety of angles in the film "The Youngest City in the World", reaching high levels in the treatment of lighting in "In the middle of the darkness", where his camera marks effects in the evaluations of portraits, especially in the inner tempo of the hero during the execution of the action, a thoughtful alternation between monumentality, the image obtained from the environment and the details in the film "Freedom and Death". Petraq Lubonje's photo was distinguished by the ability to correctly understand the atmosphere that was created here or there, by the functionality in relation to the directorial idea and the concrete treatment of the film sequence, by the mastery of the figurative composition, giving the image the desired energy and vitality. The outstanding cameraman, Petraq Lubonja, has shot over 35 chronicle and documentary films in the span of 20 years (1960-1980), giving a valuable contribution to the recording of the history of important events, various activities in the social, political and cultural fields. , scientific. His last documentary film was the one about the tour of the Ensemble of Folk Songs and Dances in Paris and other French cities entitled "On the Stages of France". Life changes on August 8, 1981. ARTISTIC FILMS: Silent Duel (1967) Why This Drum Beats (1969) The Footsteps (1970) When the Day Breaks (1971) The Stars of the Long Nights (1972) Operation Fire (1973) The Emperor's Bed (1973) The Youngest City in the World (1974) River of Light (1975) The Sounds of War (1976) The Threads That Are Cut (1976) The Monument (1977) Following the Tracks (1978) Through the Darkness (1978) Spring in Gjirokaster (1978) ) Freedom and death (1979) Carnivals (1980) When a film was being shot (1981) DOCUMENTARY: Eye of the eagle (1963) Snowy mountains (1966) Song of the bucha (1966) With the rhythm of life (1970) Figurative arts with the theme of LANCL (1970) Through the streets of a city (1974) Manifestation of our folklore Cirku yne Flladi i Nentorit 500 years of the national hero Gjergj Kastriot Skenderbeu Note: He was also a painter of the documentary "9th Spring" (1956) ___________ Albanian cinematography in activity since 2013 It was published for the first time in August 2016 on Facebook Reference: "Albanian Encyclopedia, Theater and Cinematography – Toena 2009 / p.275 / Selection of various online news.

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