Ndrekë Shkjezi (1922-2002), the great master of characters!

Ndrekë Shkjezi (1922-2002) Great actor in the embodiment of characters both in Theater and cinematography. One of the "pioneers" of Albanian acting. Meritorious artist! He was born in Shkodër on June 4, 1922. His childhood was spent first in his hometown, full of ancient culture and tradition, and then in the city of Durrës. But Shkodra would always fascinate him with its grandeur, beauty and the magic of its art. He would refer to Shkodra until the end of his life. He was only 14 years old when he saw for the first time a theatrical piece in which Pjetër Gjoka, Luigj Mjeda, Gjon Karma and Loro Kovaçi performed. The very powerful first impressions would leave a mark on him for his whole life and perhaps it would be precisely these impressions that would finally outline his artistic and social coordinates. Fascinated by the art, he tries to sing or orchestrate in the small amateur groups of that time. He even tries to perform in two skits written by Kolë Jakova, precisely in "Fotografi i huvatar" and "Mary's Shepherd". Innate intuition helps him sketch the drunk, and years later, he would remember exactly that, his first role, in various interviews. After finishing the army, he moved from his hometown to Tirana, first joining the Army Ensemble as a singer. The year 1945 finds him in Tirana, near the popular theater troupe. Until that year, theatrical performances were organized by companies, associations, etc. In May of that year, the state decided to create the State Professional Theater and Ndrekë Shkjesi was one of the first stones, coming from Shkodra, in the foundations of the national theater. Since the creation of the professional theater and until he passed away in 2000, he has been a very active actor in the popular theater troupe, today the National Theatre. In his beginnings, Ndrekë Shkjezi interprets the roles of young people with agile features and very dynamic characters, sometimes full of dichotomies or internal oppositions. Thus, he transmits to the audience quite powerful emotional states and experiences, a fullness of emotions. Although he had no art school, he manages to stand out thanks to his gift, talent and keen observation of reality, characters and human nature. And of course, he also observes the relationships between individuals, he manages to convey reliable and concrete characters first. Thus he interprets Alex in "Gjido", Simon in the part "Deputy", Stornikov in "Martesa", the merchant in "The Auditor" and then he plays in "Our land", "The Prefect", "The second face", "After two years ", "Epoka before the trial", "A lost letter", "The seven shaljans", etc. Over 78 roles in the theater take life and form from his talent, skill and creative individuality. Very quickly he stands out with the particularity, with the use of very expressive details that stuck to the role and the very efficient plastic. Only a few years later, the Russian director Sergei Yutkevich offered him his first role in the cinematography, precisely that of Jacobin in the film "Skenderbeu", alongside the very popular actors of that time such as Besa Imami, Naim Frashëri and Mihal Popi. Thus, his creative path acquires new features. He plays with a rare naturalness in small roles in the theater, which seem to give the impression of ansor, but he neatly managed to find the essence of his character and fills it with details that came from life and the realities of the time. We mention here the role of Zenel in "Pomegranate Flowers"; the role of Koço, the drunk, in Dritëro Agolli's "The Second Face", a character as tragic as it is comical, that through Ndreke Shkjezi's expressive plasticity, nuances of voice, gesticulation and details, takes place in the gallery of unique roles. He was an artist endowed with a very great imagination and intuition. He knew how to sculpt the roles very nicely, he created special characters starting mainly from the psychological world of the character. The naturalness of his game, the truthfulness and the same fine embroidery that arose from the contrast of the portrait with the feeling it conveyed, did not escape the sharp eye of the observer of the dramaturgical art. Ndrekë Shkjezi performs successfully both in Albanian parts and in classical and contemporary dramaturgy. Quite prominent and full of individuality are the roles he plays in "Mountain Chick", "The Great Upheaval", "Lobsters", "Kremlin Hours", "The Prefect", "Along with the Dawn", "Lezja" and then to "Halili and Hajria", "The strange one", "Noble responsibility", "In the garden of lilacs". Although apparently episodic roles, they carry a special specificity in the dramaturgical weight of the work. For Shkjezi, there is no division of roles into "big" or "small", there are only roles realized or not. In addition to complementing and giving life to the main character, he often competes with him. This is what happens in the comedy "The Prefect" by Besim Levonja, where Ndreka in the role of Kapterr Veliu not only completes and highlights the character of the Prefect but also rivals him. Another character, where the miracle and depth of his interpretative game is well displayed, is Pjetër Zeka in Loni Papa's "Cuca e maleve". In this part the plastic and everything else is a function of the character created by him. Here, it also shows how much care he worked with the role and how much he managed to realize it in his character. So, Ndrekë Shkjezi was not simply a complementary figure in the director's concept, but an irreplaceable element that belonged to the interpretative and dramaturgical whole. The essence not only completes the main figure but also gives meaning to this figure. Just like on the stage of the theater, he wanted me to play small, episodic roles on the set, but he knew how to elevate a role and form the character required by the director. The gallery of characters that Ndrekë Shkjezi created is very rich. His interpretations in over 30 feature films are eternally sketched on cinematographic celluloids. After Jacobin in the film "Skenderbeu" he performs in "Debate", "Special Task", "Old Wounds", "Girls with Red Ribbons", "When the Foundations Were Laid", "There is Life in Snowy Forests", " The army general is dead." The passion for art makes him never abandon it. Although he retired in 1978, he did not hesitate to start again from the beginning, looking for new roles. Thus, we find him performing in "Radio station", "We came from the war", "Hell 1943", "On the verge of freedom", "Besa red", "Our friend Tili", "Apassionata", "The end of a Blood Feud", "The Engagement of Blerta", "Decision", "Mondi and Diana", "Three People Cross the Mountain", "When the Doors of Life Open", "The Uninvited", "The Road to Freedom", "And One Day Comes ", "Waxed shirts", "On the verge of freedom", "Whiteness", "Rough shore" "A boy and a girl", etc. Role in Cinema: 1990 — White Papers…. .Kristina's uncle 1990 — A boy and a girl…..Artan's grandfather 1988 — The rough shore…….. 1988 — Three people cross the mountain……One of the villagers 1987 — The waxed shirts………..The innkeeper 1986 — The whiteness…….The pregnant woman's grandfather 1986 — And one day comes…….Nikolla, the porter of the Singles Hotel 1986 — Endless words…….The lover of trials 1986 — When the doors of life opened…..Gjin Kryebardhi 1985 — Mondi and Diana….The Fisherman 1985 — The Uninvited………Chief of Police 1984 — Blerta's Engagement……Themiu, Blerta's father 1984 — Decision…..Trader 1983 — Passion….. …Uncle Nasi, guard of the Institute 1983 — The end of a blood feud……Alushi 1982 — The road to freedom…….Preng Ujkani 1982 — The Red Besa…… .The old man without a match 1981 — Our friend Tili…….Teacher of Geography 1981 — On the verge of freedom……Hajdar Kasimati 1980 — Hell '43…….. Mr. Kiço 1979 — We came from the war……Nikollaqi 1979 — The radio station…….One of the former rich men 1978 — The dead army general…….The former officer 1978 – – When the foundations were laid………Zeneli 1978 — There is life in snowy forests……..Allaman Uka 1971 — Morning of war…… 1969 — Old wounds …….Llambi 1963 — Special task…..Mountain 1961 — Debate………Trader 1953 — Skenderbeu…….Gjeto Gjokaj Theater 15/05/1976 — "Pomegranate flowers" by Kola Jakova 13/04/1976 — "Crawfish" by Shefqet Musaraj 11/06/1975 – – "Dead river" by Kudret Velça 03/04/1974 — "Our land" by Kola Jakova 18/02/1974 — "Together with the dawn" by Kola Jakova 28/11/1973 — "Prefect" by Besim Lëvonje 24/01/1973 — "Red signal" by Bashkim Kozel 10/05/1972 — "General of the dead army" by Piro Man (People's Artist) 04/03/1971 — "Arturo Ui" by Bertold Brecht 02/13/1969 — Bashkim Kozel's "Friends" 11/12/1968 — Drita Agolli's "The Second Face" 03/07/1967 — Kola Jakov's "Cuca e maleve" 02/16/1964 — "Three days of doom" by Luan Qafzezi 13/01/1962 — "Lady of the Inn" by Carlo Goldoni 24/06/1960 — "Hamlet" by Shakespeare 08/07/1958 — "Syleshi" by S .Atomoras 30/03/1958 — "Seven Shalians" by Ndrek Luca (People's Artist) 03/11/1957 — "Kremlin Hours" by N. Pogodin 24/04/1957 — "The Stranger" by Nazim Himet 18/09/1953 — "The Upheaval" by Llavranjev 21/03/1953 — "Othello" by Shakespeare 11/11/1950 — "Halili and Hajria" by Kole Jakov 12/12/1948 — "The Prefect" of Besim Lubonja 25/01/1947 — "The Auditor" by Nikolaj Gogol 24/06/1946 — "Gjido" by Moliere 23/02/1946 — "The Marriage" by Gogol 22/11/1945 — "Coni, Ishaj and Roma" by Besim Lëvonja (Honored Artist) 14/11/1945 — "Deputy" by Kolë Jakovo Awards and Titles 1989 Honored Artist April 23, 1983 Festival Medal for the film "Our Friend Tili" at the V Festival of Albanian Film held in Tirana from April 19 to 23, 1983. "Naim Frashëri" Labor Medal ____________________________ Albanian cinematography a public site active since 2013. Published since June 2014 and revised in the following years. Reference: "Encyclopedia of Albanian Cinematography" 1999 vol. 1; 2002 vol.2 as well as information extracted from the newspaper, various online Albanian forums and the documentary about the actor from "Channel One".

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