Artan Minarolli
Artan Minarolli (1958–2015) was an Albanian filmmaker who came of age as Albanian cinema reopened to the world after decades of isolation. Born in Tirana, he studied fine art at the University of Tirana, graduated in film direction from Albafilm Studio in 1992, and completed a directing specialization at the European Film School in Denmark in 1993. His documentary For One Centimeter (1991) won the top prize at the Turin Festival and his collaborations with Petrit Ruka — One Hundred Percent and Plastic Bullet — followed in the mid-1990s. He directed the features Moonless Night (2004), Alive! (2009, an Albanian-Austrian-French co-production), and Provincial Chronicle (2009). Alongside his filmmaking he led the Albanian Film Archive (2006–09) and the Albanian National Cinema Center (2009–14). He died of a heart attack at fifty-seven.