To mark this occasion, Lumbardhi’s Fjolla Hoxha and Malibu (Barbara Braccini) have an exchange prior to the event.

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FH: Artistic interpretations aside, who is Malibu in your own words?

M: Malibu is literally *me*, Barbara. Despite the possibly ironic-sounding name I’ve picked for no good reason at all, the music I write under this alias is 100% me, it’s like a diary, all the stories I tell are my own heartbreaks and nostalgia.

FH: Your performances are described as immersive sea-like sonic experiences. Where does your connection with the ocean come from and how does that influence your work?

M: I grew up near the ocean, my dad is an oceanologist, while growing up, my nanny had a dolphin obsession…. maybe all these things are subconsciously emerging when I make music, I’m not exactly sure. I’m an over-thinker, to the point of making myself sick, so maybe I need the organic loudness and quietness of the waves to balance that. My head is empty when I’m at the ocean, which maybe is what happiness feels like.

FH: How would you describe the zone where the musical and the cinematic experience meet and interact in your performance?

M: If we say the « cinematic » part is basically the visual aspect of it, I think they have to exist together; one supports the other and vice-versa. The music can be intense and full, and very visual, it invites the listeners to go into somewhat of an introspection, so it’s important that what they *see* supports what they may be feeling. A blinking star, a boat offshore, whatever it is, it lulls the listeners and gives meaning to it all, hopefully…

FH: Can you talk a bit about your entrance to the music world and what direction your journey is currently taking?

M: I came to it out of passion a few years ago through a friend, and I guess it gradually became my life, essentially. Without thinking about it that much, it took the direction it took ; today I’m not interested in making this or that « move » for it to become whatever else, I’m happy to see where it goes and be surprised, maybe! My radio show on NTS is a constant, kind of « keeps me going » monthly, so we’ll see where this goes too!

FH: Are there any emerging topics or urgencies that you wish to tackle with your work in the near future?

M: I don’t think so, nothing in particular that I can think of. Maybe being heartbroken is what will make me continue to write music I suppose. Heart needs to either be empty or so full, it could explode in order for me to have anything to talk about.

This ephemeral experience filled with a distinct atmosphere will be preceded by a special screening and followed by a closing session.

To keep track of the event, please attend to the link here and follow us on instagram.

The event starts at 20:00 and entry to the performance is free of charge. 

The event is supported by Raiffeisen Bank in Kosovo and The French Embassy in Kosovo.

The initiative that emerged in response to the attempts to privatize and demolish Kino Lumbardhi proved that civic engagement stops destructive processes and initiates constructive collective practices of building common spaces, institutions, and ideas. Lumbardhi Foundation is the direct legacy and byproduct of this civic initiative. Established to follow up the initial demands and aims, it puts into  dialogue the stakeholders and communities to rebuild an institution that responds to its context and our times.  

When as founders of the organization, we took over the keys, and unlocked the cinema in 2015, we couldn’t predict what shape it would take today: Not that it would take four government changes and a ruling of the constitutional court to make Lumbardhi a public property. Nor that the full revitalization of the building would start in 2022. However, we made it through by building genuine relations with collaborators, organizations, users, and dedicated supporters. They recognized the need for a long-term commitment to achieve the founding mission of Lumbardhi.

Looking at the process as an open inquiry and a learning experience, we got acquainted with the situation, discrepancies, and possibilities of Kosovo’s evolving cultural infrastructure and governance. Participating in the national and international debates about cultural institutions, we’ve been questioning their possible role within an ongoing process of state-building and accelerated social transformations.

The challenges and the state of solidarity triggered by COVID-19 made us even more aware of the importance of artists, cultural workers, and institutions in coping with the uncertainties of these times and the need for working together to shape a just, sustainable and livable future. In the context of limitations caused by the restrictions and upcoming renovation, Lumbardhi has been shifting its focus from space to refine its vision.
With research, programs, and publishing on one side and collective processes of advocacy and instituting on the other, Lumbardhi aims to blur the lines between art, theory, and practice, finding tools for understanding current times and testing new parameters for development in its neighborhood and the broader civic ecosystem.  The new opening is a new way of connecting, opening to deepen relationships with individuals and institutions, sharing knowledge, experiences, and resources, and creating new spaces for these conversations to take place.

In the first step of this phase, we are launching BLLOGU, conceived by the research & programs team of Lumbardhi, to make available parts of research and programs to meet their public and become open for discussion. Initiated as an experimental platform, it will invite artists, researchers, and readers to engage with the existing and upcoming research threads and Lumbardhi’s programs. Starting with weekly articles from the research projects ‘Kinofiguration’ and ‘Nation Formation’ as well as sounds from “Listening Journals” which graced Kino Bahçe in the summer of the pandemic, BLLOGU will expand and shape itself with the reaction of the contributors and the public.