From Audience Member to Volunteer

07/08/2023

In the charming city of Prizren, in the massive crowds of people around the center, you can easily identify the young people in blue shirts who provide color to the 22nd edition of DokuFest.

The blue shirts are just one of the signs distinguishing the volunteers of Kosovo's biggest film festival. Happy and full of joy, they share their experiences of being involved in the festival so far.

Tomor Jahjaga is one of the hundreds of DokuFest volunteers. His journey began years ago when he came to watch films in DokuFest cinemas, and was inspired to be more as involved as possible in the festival. "For the first time, I volunteered at DokuFest in the Events Department. In the past editions, I was in the audience and I watched films".

Jona Shporta, who was previously just in the audience, had the same transformation from a viewer to a volunteer.
Jona talks about the friendships made at DokuFest as well as the atmosphere throughout the festival. "The best thing about DokuFest is the arrival of new people, socializing with them, and creating spaces for artists, either for documentaries or for music. Every time I came to DokuFest, I made new friends that I still have," she said.
Jona has described communication and cooperation with the festival guests as easy. "Albanians are known to be sociable and hospitable, so it's worth it."

Another volunteer from England, Gwendy Davenport, noticed the hospitality and the energy. "The first thing I noticed when I arrived was the positive energy of the people, there was a lot of liveliness and atmosphere here," she said.
Like her fellow volunteers who continue to work to make DokuFest as wonderful as possible, Gwendy was just a viewer last year.
"Last year I was at DokuFest to watch films, when I met volunteers and asked them about volunteering at the festival. They told me it was a wonderful experience, so I wanted to be one of them." At DokuFest, Gwendy is excited to learn more about Kosovo and the local culture.

DokuFest offers a wide platform for cultural experiences and exchanges.

By: Valona Hasani

Photo: Agon Dana