Hive

Blerta Basholli  |  84 min  |  Kosovo  |  2021  |  Drama  |  15  |  

In a quiet Kosovan village recovering from war, a widow dares to defy traditions to provide for her kids. Hive is a powerful, understated drama about resilience, community, and the quiet revolution of one woman who refuses to be silenced.

Based on the true story of Fahrije Hoti, the film follows a woman whose husband disappeared during the Kosovo War. Struggling to support her family, she starts a small business selling homemade ajvar, enlisting other widows in the process. But in a deeply patriarchal society, her efforts are met with hostility and suspicion. With a restrained yet emotionally potent performance by Yllka Gashi, Hive captures the tension between personal grief and collective healing, unfolding with a quiet intensity that lingers long after the film ends.

Directed by Blerta Basholli in her feature debut, Hive made history at Sundance by winning the Grand Jury Prize, Audience Award, and Directing Award in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition. Basholli, inspired by Fahrije Hoti’s quiet but radical defiance, delivers a film that is both deeply personal and politically resonant. Watching Hive leaves you with a slow-burning anger at the injustice, but also an overwhelming admiration for the strength and dignity of women who keep going, even when the world tries to stop them.

In Albanian with English subtitles