The Forgiveness of Blood

The Forgiveness of Blood is Albanian-American drama film directed by Joshua Marston. The film premiered In Competition at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival and competed for the Golden Bear. Joshua Marston and Andamion Murataj won the Silver Bear for Best Script.

Synopsis: An Albanian family caught up in a blood feud. Nik (Tristan Halilaj) is a carefree teenager in a small town with a crush on the school beauty and ambitions to start his own small internet business. His world is suddenly up-ended when his father becomes entangled in a dispute that leaves a fellow villager murdered. According to a centuries-old code of law known as the Kanun, Nik's family owes a life in return. Nik finds himself the prime target and becomes confined to home while his younger sister Rudina (Sindi Lacej) is forced to leave school and take over their father's business.

The film was originally submitted as the Albanian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film, but it was rejected due to protest of Bujar Alimani, the director of Amnesty, that The Forgiveness of Blood shouldn't be eligible due to American artists' input on the project. AMPAS disqualified it and Albania submitted instead Alimani's film.