Kiço Fotiadhi (1943 – 2014) | The unforgettable voice of the evening “Revista Televizive”

Kiço Fotiadhi (1943-2014)

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For many years, he has been the icon of Albanian Television as one of the most important figures of this institution, since its foundation. The first TVSH announcer holds the title “Naim Frasheri i arte”! Director of news and broadcasts on various topics in this state institution, from literature, culture, politics to music. The man who was fired several times by TVSH for absurd reasons by government systems before and after the 90s.

It is the case that proves several times and finally that politicians and ignorant leaders in Albania, regardless of time, are afraid of knowledgeable people.

He was born in 1943. An orphan without a mother, his father was one of the best teachers in the country who changed his life leaving Kico as a minor. He was a very careful person and very passionate about language. After finishing Janinina’s course, he was appointed a teacher in many schools in the country. His father almost worked as a teacher in all the locations of Albania, Tepelen, Dropull, Dukat te Vlora, Dhërmi and then transferred to Lezhe.

Here, Kico starts first grade at the “Idajet Lezha” school, and his first teacher was Gjergj Lacaj, a Catholic priest who also taught him piano. After the loss of his father, together with his brother Dhimitri, he was sent to the “Orphanage, children’s home” in Vlora in 1949. As a child, he had a passion for the theater. In Vlora, he participated in the theater circles of the “House of Pioneers” of Vlora. He was an associate of the “House of Culture” of Vlora.

His desire was to study drama. After competing in 1957, he did not win until a year later, competing again, he became a winner and began his studies at the Artistic Lyceum. Kico’s teachers have been big names such as Sandër Prosi, Naim Frashëri, Kadri Roshi, Prokop Mima, Mihallaq Luarasi, etc.

He also had the great fortune to teach Greek literature and theater four years in a row in two segments, with the well-known Professor of the time Myzafer Xhaxhiu (ancient Greek literature) and Professor Xhemal Broja (teaching lessons on ancient Greek theater). It belongs to a generation that was fed with the most beautiful scientific, pedagogical and cultural levels that generation of pedagogues had.

In their foundations they laid the most sacred principles of Albanian art and world art in general. After high school, which he finished with very high results, he also graduated from the “Aleksandër Moisiu” Higher Dramaturgical Institute. (The Academy of Arts was originally the Higher Dramaturgical Institute “Aleksandër Moisiu”, whose residence was in the “People’s Theater”.

There were studios and classes, and this was established in 1958. In 1966, after graduating from the Institute, he was directly appointed the main announcer at the Albanian Radio and Television, a profession he held until 1974 and then from 1981 – 1994.

In 1959, the Albanian Broadcasting Radio was operating, broadcasting with reduced hours. They were looking for elements, announcers and had many shows, live, dramatized, all of them with literary creativity. They looked for the basis of the anchors in the artistic schools. Kico’s professor and prominent actor Prokop Mima worked very seriously to learn how to speak beautifully, how to dub beautifully, how to recite beautifully, etc.

The most beautiful voices were recorded at the Lyceum. Kico Fotjadhi also competes among them. They give him a newspaper to read something in there. After 20 days, the one who made the recording tells him that you can collaborate with us on various radio shows.

It was 1959. Back then, speakers didn’t get on the microphone right away. Kico was given literary sketches and various stories. Then a character was created in the children’s show called “uncle correspondent”. This was a figure who corresponded with the whole of Albania for all the problems the children had. This is how the editors had prepared it, among them was the well-known for the time who is no longer alive, Konstandin Leli. When he started working for the first time in 1959 at “Radio Difuzion”, which was on Street of Kavaja, he found the journalist Alfons Gurashi who had gone through these stages and at that time was making the Radio Encyclopedia.

From children’s shows, Kico continues in culture shows, with literary shows. There is a program entitled “Popular University” on the radio and another one for prominent figures of world classical music, the parent’s column, the family table. In 1964, he directed a program entitled “Albanians in exile”, where journalists communicated with our exiles. At that time, however, he had no ambitions for television and radio, and was studying to be an actor. He thought about which professional theater he would be appointed to and what role he would play, but television also did its job. It will be the year 1963, when the first announcer Stoli Beli proposes to lead the news as an announcer on television. I don’t remember exactly when he first gave the news on Television, but for Kico it was the strangest and holiest day in the concept because the image he was talking about on television had not yet been created (considering the fact that only 13 TVs were in Tirana at that time. He was the first announcer who was appointed in TVSH. were the Albanian speakers Vera Zheji, etc.

He came from an artistic school. The requests for the materials that were read in the news, be it political news, had artistic requests. In this way, he entered the radio-television. Since the 70’s, when the news show “TV Magazine” started, Kico Fotjadhi would be the main news presenter. On July 1, 1974, he was removed from VATS and sent to the farm with all the women, for political reasons. (from an anonymous letter that a three-generation distant cousin of his mother had escaped to Greece and that his father had been a member of the Italian fascist party)…… 1976 he was made Director of Culture in the area of Lura for two years. Later director of the Ali Kelmendi Palace of Culture.

It will be the year 1980 when the cooperation with Radio Television will resume. Then his biographical restoration begins. In 1981, the events in Kosovo started demanding independence, and Albania maintained its position with some very strong articles. One of those articles was from March 1981. The article had the title “Who incited enmity between the people of Yugoslavia” which Kico Fotjadhi read with professionalism, leaving an indelible mark as a reader full of emotions. If we are going to talk about the shows that Kico Fotjadhi directed on the radio, we will not leave without mentioning: the special shows about all the literature of the 30s by Nonda Bulka, Qemal Stafa, Migjeni, Petro Markos and others.

They had these all recorded on the radio. After his departure in 1974, two of the editors of the communist culture editorial office removed these broadcasts from the archive only because it was his voice damaging the archive, and erasing all those dirty recordings. In addition to other shows, Kico Fotjadhi has made a series of music shows on television, such as the one in 1972 for the 8th song festival on Radio Television. Let’s not forget the show “Për ty atdhe” in all of Albania with the best singers of that time, with Justina Alia, Ema Qazimi who are in the archive of Albanian television.

Then in 1984-1985, it was given as an orientation to make a show about Albanian ethnogenesis, where several scenarios were formulated and 26 long-length shows of 3 hours each would be made for all the districts of Albania. This show was made standing and not sitting and was the first in the history of Albanian television. That show became simple without text where Kico Fotjadhi only spoke without papers. This show was monthly, and ran for three years.

To cry and to laugh in the same time. Reflection of an old mirror!

In 1992, they removed him from TVSH again, saying that this man has served monism. The same goes for Alfons Gurashi and Virgjil Kule, the greatest speakers of the Albanian screen!!! The absurd motivation was that he had faithfully served monism!!! In the years of transition after the 90s, Kico Fotjadhi did not emigrate. He held the position of director of the “Ali Kelmendi” Palace of Culture, remaining in this position until 1994-1995, and then with a decision this palace of culture was dissolved and seized and he remains without a job.

In 1997, he started as a collaborator with the help of director Albert Minga. Then he started dealing with Vefa television, where he was in the process of being organized, but after a few months the problems he had with the Albanian state came out and they seized it.

They invite him to two private televisions.

Kico Fotjadhi, closed his eyes on September 17, 2014

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Albanian cinematography in activity since 2013
Reference in building this article: The author’s own interview given to Albert Zholit in August 2008.

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