04/08/2022
When you say DokuFest, you immediately think of Prizren, while when you say Prizren, you think of DokuFest. For the city, these days are its most beautiful, as it welcomes guests from all over the world. Apart from the festival activities, these guests have the opportunity to enjoy the hospitality, traditions, food and take with them a piece of the Prizren spirit when they return.
The soul of a city is the people, precisely those who have already opened the doors of their homes to welcome friends from around the globe.
For Agnesa Çipa, who for the 8th year in a row has opened the doors of her house hosting the DokuFest guests, this event is of course very special.
"Kosovo does not have the opportunity to travel the world, but through DokuFest the world has the opportunity to host it in its home once a year. It is a great pleasure to contribute to such an important event.”
The energy of DokuFest is felt especially among young people. At their tables, they talk only about the activities, the music, the films of this edition, as an event that they have been looking forward to for a long time.
"How beautiful it is, so many people, DokuNights are my favorites. This is the best time in Prizren", says Redon Doçi, a guy who every day waits and escorts guests to the bar where he works.
In the conversations with the citizens who have been living this experience for 21 years now, one can see a great love for the event that once a year makes Prizren, the navel of the world.
"The city is more alive these days, there are new people, more visitors", says Dardan, a young man from Prizren.
"I haven't been here in other years, but this year I'm looking forward to seeing it, as everyone has told me it's going to be beautiful," tells Vjosa, who serves in one of the city's cafeterias.
For those behind the scenes, of course, these preparations translate into countless hours of intensive work, and Vigan Bytyçi, DokuFest's head of logistics, tells us this best.
"It's been a few days already, since we went home very little, together with the logistics team. We worked until early morning hours, the last details need to be completed and the responsibility is ours, and the whole team's, which for me is the best in the world", confesses Vigani.
As for someone who comes to the city for the first time and is still waiting for the start of the festival, these conversations, stories, descriptions and preparations so felt are nothing but one more reason to grow impatient. In just a few hours, DokuFest is ready...
By Ana Haxhimali
Photo Credits: Gerd Waliszewski