IN CONVERSATION WITH RENIS HYKA

interview by TIMOTEJ LETONJA

Hailing from Tirana, Renis Hyka is an Albanian film director, writer, and screenwriter, whose recent film project won him ‘The Dream Makers’ award at the 2026 Berlinale International Film Festival. Titled Day One (Dita ë Pare), the short highlights a newly dramatic milestone for the director, focusing on themes of parenthood and loss, as he delves deeper into his film career.

image courtesy of CUPRA

Day One centres on a couple who will finally become parents after being unable to have children. What emotional temperature defines this “day” — hope, fear, fragility?

The story is more or less about a couple who cannot have children, so they decided to go on a very long journey. We don't understand in the beginning what is happening, but when they arrive in the village, a very remote village, we understand the reason why they are traveling. They want to buy a child. So, they pay for it and start their journey back as parents. But when they are very close to returning to their city, they discover that the child is missing a leg. Shocked by the dilemma, they try to go back to the village, but they never discover it, as it seems to have disappeared. So instead, they return home.

So, this is the story, but it's more focused on the relationship between this couple and the stress and pressure of society for families that don't have children. And the strong backgrounds remain, like the act of buying a child, which is very strong, but also the village of the woman itself, it's like a village where rich people, the people who can have the opportunity to buy children, go. So, it's serves as a metaphor, more or less.

Your work explores existential themes. How does parenthood intersect with existential anxiety?

I've been very interested in these themes. People decide, and they are what they decide, etc. I've been very influenced by writers like Franz Kafka, Albert Camus, John Paul Sartre, but also, if you go back, Dostoevsky. I believe it is very important to understand our existence in this world and also how people perceive it. 

Regarding how this intersects with the relationship of parents and children, I always respect all the decisions that parents make in their lives. If they want to have one kid, two, ten, or no kids, that’s their choice to make. However, in this case, we need to create a film and a story. I added some references on how society sometimes puts pressure on parents, especially in Balkan countries or Eastern Europe. They are just waiting for you to get married and have kids, which can pressure people into difficult or strange decisions. Anyway, I won’t get too deep into it now, but I have my own point of view on that. 

How does Albanian society shape the expectations around family and parenthood in this narrative?

In the film, I tried to avoid geographical terms and references to the time period and country. So, as a story, I want it to stay a little more global. Relating to how Albanians perceive their families, we come from a communist country, so family was very important and still is, also today.

But we are becoming more European, in the sense that people get married a bit older, not at 20, like they used to do 30-40 years ago. So things are changing, but mostly because people have the right to decide for themselves and not from the pressure of how society wants them to be.

⁠Is the winter setting symbolic? What does coldness — literal or metaphorical — represent in the film?

So, there are two very important things in the film that also make the movie itself a part of the story. One is the atmosphere and the silence, in general, of the movie.

We have very minimalistic and very few dialogues, so there is a lot of silence in the story. Another significant feature is the winter. It represents the coldness of the relationship between this couple. It's like the whole journey, they have something to say, but they never say it.

Did you structure the film in real-time to intensify emotional immersion?

I try to avoid time-related references. I want people, when they see it, not to focus on whether it is in the present, in the future, or in the past, but just on the importance of the story. It can be understood in any time period. 

⁠What was your approach to directing actors through such emotionally charged material?

In general, my way of working with actors may be a bit different from that of other directors with whom I collaborate. I try to ask them not to memorize the lines of the film, but just to read the story, to have that emotional feeling of the character that is needed. This does not involve improvising, but moreso finding the right way to say that word, because if they try to remember everything, every line, it looks like they are just reading something, not acting.

It's nice to add your tone of voice a little bit, though a lot of directors are like, no, stick to the script. 

Your shorts have been supported by the Albanian National Center of Cinematography. How does national funding influence artistic autonomy?

I think most of the films that come out of Albania are supported by the Albanian National Film Center. It's very difficult to find independent movies or money from outside the state funds. So, it's very important also for young directors to start with shorts, and after that to try to develop a feature-length film.  Because, you know, film is very expensive compared to other arts.

So, if you want to write a book, you can do it by yourself. But if you want to make a film, you cannot do it, or at least, it's very difficult. So, it's very important.

Having studied both BA and MA in Film & TV in Tirana, how did academia shape — or challenge — your voice?

I started film school when I was 28 years old, after I studied economics. So, I think that the decision, or maybe not the decision, but it was kind of fate that I started so late.

It helped me to understand things better, to understand stories better, to understand philosophy better. And to approach these things better. And about the school itself, I think that it helps to get involved in the film network. From the outside, you never understand how this industry works. You have to go into that world to understand what that means and how to be in the film industry, so I think it's important for that.

But I want to keep in mind that it's also very important that you have your own unique voice. And to maintain that unique voice also after school, because everyone is different.

Usually, schools try to shape everyone in one direction. So, if you lose this unique sense of perception in film, it can be quite a bad thing. But if you use the school to understand how film works, and also to maintain your unique style, it will be amazing.

⁠What does receiving Special Recognition at The Dream Makers 2026 signify for Albanian cinema on an international platform?

Of course, it's very important. But not just for me, but for other filmmakers in Albania. Because I know that in Albania there are a lot of very talented filmmakers, but they need a push or something to believe that dreams can come true. So, you have to believe in yourself and work for that. And I think that this could be a good example also for them. 

⁠Do you see yourself continuing to explore existential domestic dramas or moving toward different scales and genres?

This is my first drama, at least proper drama, because my first two movies have been more dark comedies and satire. I try to mix sometimes drama with comedy.

But I think every story deserves its own different style. So, also for me, I think that directors or artists in general don't have to be obsessed with one kind of style. They have to have something unique. Everyone has to have that. Something unique, but not to be obsessed with everything being the same style every time.

What are the formal risks you are most eager to take next?

After this movie, which I have to direct called Day One, I am working on my first feature. After every movie, I always want to improve just something. Because I think it's very risky to try to do 10 steps at once. It's better to work step by step, and in the end, it will help your career. Because if you try to go directly to the top, you risk that tomorrow you will be down.

Anyway, I think the next movie will be the feature one. I have a story in mind that, of course, I like and that I think works. But I don't want to do a very extravagant movie. I just want to do something different, but not too different.

⁠What does “dream making” mean to you in practical, not poetic, terms?

I can say that at some moment in your life, dreams are not important. The goals are important. Because dreams are when you are young. You have to dream about what you want to do.

But if you dream for your whole life, you will stay in that state, with no need to improve yourself. When we were young, we all had our dreams. Now it's time to move, to wake up, and realize your dreams.