Arta Dobroshi (born 2 October 1980)[1] is a Kosovo-Albanian actress and producer. Dobroshi is the first Kosovan actress to walk the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival,[2] the Berlin International Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival[3] and be nominated for the European Film Award. Dobroshi is a former refugee and now a UN Champion and Goodwill Ambassador.
Arta Dobroshi
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| Born | Arta Dobroshi (1980-10-02) 2 October 1980 (age 43) |
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| Years active | 2005–present |
Arta Dobroshi was born in Pristina, to Kosovo Albanian parents. She has been studying the performing arts since elementary school[4] and attended the Academy of Arts acting and drama course in Pristina for four years.[5] She starred in many short films and theatre plays whilst a student there. When Arta was fifteen, she went on a student exchange program to North Carolina, where she starred in drama plays.[5] Dobroshi has a strong work ethic, known to rehearse for a role eight hours or more a day.[5] After her first year at the academy, the Kosovo War escalated and Dobroshi's grandparents were imprisoned by Serbian authorities for trying to open an Albanian-language university.[6] When Serbian President Slobodan Milošević resigned in October 2000, Dobroshi quit her job at the refugee camp and became a translator for NATO.[6]
After the war period, she took roles in the local theaters and Albanian movies, as well as a leading role in the German-Albanian production Magic Eye (2005).[7]
While performing a play in Sarajevo, Dobroshi came into contact with Luc and Jean-Piere Dardenne who offered her an open casting in Kosovo for Lorna's Silence.[5] Two weeks after the casting, Dobroshi was called up by the Dardenne brothers and was given the role, despite not speaking French.[5][6]
Dobroshi came to international prominence in the Dardenne brothers' film Lorna's Silence in which she played the title role to great acclaim and received international media attention. The film was awarded in Cannes 2008.[8] In the same year Dobroshi was nominated for her role, in the Best Actress category, at the European Film Awards[9] and at the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2009.[10]
Dobroshi received high praise from the film industry press:
The radiant Dobroshi illuminates her physical and moral struggles with grit, conviction and a grace that shines all the more brightly amid the gloomy world from which it springs. Lorna may be lost, but here is an actress who, at every turn, knows exactly what she's doing.
— Variety (28 August 2008)[11]
Dobroshi starred in the short film BabybyBAFTA winning director Daniel Mulloy. Baby won the Best Short Film Award when it premièred at the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2010[12] and won Best International Short Film at Cork Film Festival.[13] It was awarded the highly coveted Best Short Film Award at the British Independent Film Awards[14] Best International Short Film at Flickerfest[15] and will have its US premiere at the Sundance Film Festival 2011. Dobroshi was awarded Best Actress for her role in Baby at the 24fps International Short Film Festival[16]
Dobroshi has completed filming on Julie Gavras' Late Bloomers alongside William Hurt and Isabella Rossellini.
Dobroshi stars in Trois Mondes which had its première in the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.[17]
Dobroshi is working on Nëna, with her director from Baby, Daniel Mulloy. The film is set in Kosovo's capital Pristina.[18]
Dobroshi was a jury member of the 59th Berlin International Film Festival.[7]
On 22 December 2008, Dobroshi was appointed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a MDG Champion / Goodwill Ambassador for Kosovo. The UNDP were impressed by her previous charity work and believed that her high-profile would help raise awareness on issues.
Dobroshi won the 2017 BAFTA Film Award for producing the refugee film Home.
In 2016, Dobroshi was the lead in the acclaimed Massive Attack video Come Near Me.[19]
Upon receiving the 2017 Gold Lion in Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity Dobroshi broke protocol to give a powerful message to the world "I am Arta Dobroshi, my nationality is happy and I live in the city called earth".[19]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | You Won't Be Alone | Stamena | |
| 2020 | Gangs of London | Floriana | Television series; 8 episodes |
| 2019 | Drita | Drita | Also executive producer |
| 2018 | Stray | Grace | Best Actress Award – Antipodean Film Festival |
| 2016 | Home | Executive producer | |
| 2015 | Atis | Mother | Also producer |
| 2014 | Gently, Gently | Anna | |
| 2013 | Mitrovica[20] | ||
| A Cold Day[21] | |||
| 2012 | Three Worlds (Trois mondes) | Vera | Best Actress Award – TheWIFTS Foundation International Visionary Awards |
| Nëna | Fatmire | ||
| 2011 | Late Bloomers (Trois fois 20 ans) | Maya | |
| Baby | Sara | Best Actress Award – 24FPS International Short Film Festival | |
| 2008 | Lorna's Silence (Le silence de Lorna) | Lorna | Best Actress Nomination – European Film Award Best Actress Nomination – Toronto Film Critics Association Awards Best Actress Nomination – Cannes Film Festival |
| 2007 | Vera | Vera | |
| 2006 | The Sadness of Mrs. Snajdrova (Smutek paní Snajdrové) | Ema | |
| 2005 | Magic Eye (Syri magjik) | Viola | Best Actress Award – Skopje International Film Festival |
| 2002 | Netët e Zullumadhit | Girlfriend |
Dobroshi can speak Albanian, English, French, and can understand Macedonian.[5]