Sundance Winner ‘Shame and Money’ Returns to Sarajevo, Spotlighting Kosovo’s Class Crisis
Visar Morina’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize drama “Shame and Money” is competing at the Sarajevo Film Festival, portraying a Kosovo family’s descent amid economic hardship.
After winning the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, Visar Morina’s latest film “Shame and Money” has entered the main competition at the Sarajevo Film Festival, revisiting the venue that honored his earlier work. The movie tracks a middle-aged Kosovo couple, Shaban (Astrit Kabashi) and Hatixhe (Flonja Kodheli), whose farm life collapses after a family betrayal, pushing them into Pristina’s precarious gig economy. Their struggle—taking menial jobs and confronting a nouveau-rich businessman—illustrates the deepening divide between rich and poor in a country still grappling with post-war promises.
Morina, who emigrated to Germany in the 1990s, says the film serves as a parable for Europe’s rising living costs, housing shortages and stagnant wages. Production involves Schuldenberg Films, Eagle Eye Films and several co-producers, with world sales handled by The Yellow Affair and Espoo.
Why it matters
The film uses a Kosovo family’s plight to highlight growing economic inequality across Europe.
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