Workers’ Wings
2024 | 19' | Documentary
Men who, after a work injury, look at us:
How do they feel? What are their hopes? What does the future hold for them?
Every line on their faces sculpted by life itself.
In contrast, a system filled with danger and injustice looms overhead.
CREDITS
| Writer / Director: | Ilir Hasanaj |
| Montage: | Enis Saraçi |
| Cinematography: | Vigan Nimani |
| Research: | Dafina Halili |
| Korab Mala | |
| Mentor Mahmuti | |
| Producer: | Ilir Hasanaj |
| Arvan Berisha | |
| Sound Design: |
Enis Saraçi |
| Music: |
Vigan Nimani |
| Sound Mix: |
Simon Walker |
| Graphic Design: |
Urtina Hoxha |
| Production: | Unseen Films |
FESTIVALS / AWARDS
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REVIEW
Workers’ Wings focuses on three men – Milazim, Fatmir, and Liridon – who stare into the camera after suffering industrial accidents. These manual laborers from Kosovo, one of the world’s poorest countries, silently convey their experiences through their gazes. Director Ilir Hasanaj’s experimental documentary explores the hopes of these men and the harsh realities they face. The deep lines etched on their faces wordlessly testify to the weight of their lives, contrasting sharply with a system fraught with danger and injustice that elicits little sympathy. Through poetic imagery, the film depicts the harsh reality of the Balkans and pays tribute to the gentle, sincere, and dignified yet almost invisible human voices that fall victim to the machinery of capitalism. Hasanaj’s work is a powerful meditation on workers who are becoming “extinct” in the face of systemic challenges. The final shot of the film, embodying the metaphorical title Workers’ Wings, leaves a lasting impression, sealing the viewer’s experience with a poignant visual that lingers long after the film ends.
DIRECTOR'S NOTE
It happened while I was working on my debut feature, “me dasht’ me dasht’ me dasht’” (To Want, to Need, to Love). I was in “Hackerspace”, a co-working community located near the top of a steady rise, where Prishtina’s Aktash neighbourhood merges seamlessly into Sunny Hill. The day was hot and still, perhaps so still that something was wrong. As I nipped out during a quick break in filming, heading in the direction of my favorite burektore, I heard a scream. As I got closer, I saw a man, probably in his 60s, lying in the road. Blood was coming from his head. And he continued to scream, non-stop, in agony.
The old man had fallen from improvised construction scaffolding, probably from a height of at least two to three meters — and he was badly injured. As I scanned around, I noticed that there was no helmet, nor any other workplace safety equipment, in sight.Meanwhile, a crowd had gathered, an ambulance had been called and we waited there, somewhat helplessly, for assistance to arrive. As we stood there in those long minutes waiting for the emergency crew, the air filled with the old man’s piercing cry, I decided I had to make a documentary film about these workers, who have an accident at work and find their lives changed forever. Sometimes it takes their whole life.
Over the years, reports of workplace accidents in Kosovo have increased; From 2021 – 2023, 763 accidents at the workplace were officially reported — and 33 deaths. But these figures are assumed to be just the tip of the iceberg. The real numbers must be much higher.
For a long time, this subject has been marked by inactivity and silence. Through this film, I want to give these people the voice they deserve; gentle, sincere and dignified — but also powerful.