The film is devoted to families in Albania that were forcefully separated during the communist regime of Enver Hoxha.
Adela Peeva achieved international acclaim for her 2003 documentary film Whose is this Song? in which several friends with diverse Balkan backgrounds-a Greek, a Serb, a Turk, a Macedonian, and a Bulgarian-argue about the origins of a popular song to which everyone knows the melody.
The director focuses exclusively on Balkan themes, such as the problems of Bulgaria's ethnic Turks in her 1999 film The Unwanted.
The winner of the Prix Arte will be presented at the 20th European Film Awards ceremony on Dec. 1 in Berlin.
The other nominated documentaries announced on Oct. 9 are: To the Limit by Pepe Danquart, Germany/Austria; Belarusian Waltz by Andrzej Fidyk, Norway; Forever by Heddy Honigmann, The Netherlands; Echoes of Home by Stefan Schwietert, Switzerland/Germany; Paper cannot Wrap up Embers by Rithy Panh, France; 9 Star Hotel by Ido Haar, Israel; The Champagne Spy by Nadav Schirman, Israel/Germany; Where is the Love in the Palmgrove? by Jérôme Le Maire, Belgium ; and The Monastery by Pernille Rose Grønkjær, Denmark
