Freedom or Death restored in 4K by Augustus Color with the support of “Season of Classic Films” program by ACE

The Albanian National Film Archive, The Association of European Cinematheques (ACE) and Tirana Film Institute, organize the premiere event of the restored film LIRI A VDEKJE (1978) directed by Ibrahim Muçaj and Kristaq Mitro, as the closing film of the 23rd edition of the Tirana International Film Festival 2025.

📅 September 27, 2025
🕗 20:30
📍 Millennium Cinema

With great pleasure and pride, we share with you the completion of this restoration project. A long journey of work, passion and dedication that restored the film to its former glory, to present it to the public again in the form it deserves.
The digital restoration of the film LIRI A VDEKJE was made possible by the Classic Film Season project – an initiative of the Association of European Cinematheques (ACE), with the support of the European Commission’s Creative Europe MEDIA program.
Freedom or Death was restored from the original 35mm negative elements. The negative was scanned in 4K at the AQSHF studio in Tirana and restored at the Augustus Color laboratory in Rome, Italy.

FREEDOM OR DEATH | ALBANIA | 1979 | 120’ | color
Genre: Fiction
Directors: Ibrahim Muçaj, Kristaq Mitro
Script: Vath Koreshi
Cinematography: Petraq Lubonja
Art Designer: Arben Basha
Music composer: Kujtim Laro
Produced by: “Kinostudio “Shqipëria e re”
Cast: Timo Flloko, Gjergj Lala, Kadri Roshi, Nikolla Llambro, Sotiraq Bratko, Kastriot Çaushi, Fane Bita, Bujar Asqeriu, Edmond Tare, Reshat Arbana, Liza Laska, Pandi Raidhi, Viktor Çaro, Jorgaq Tushe, Elvira Diamanti, Teuta Keçi, Adem Gjyzeli, Ilia Shyti, Kastriot Çollaku, Irakli Lefteri, Tomor Bendo, Marta Burda, Aristotel Stefani, Adrian Lazëri, Birçe Hasko.
The outlaws led by Çerçiz Topulli, Mihal Grameno, and Hajredin Tremishti return to the village, to their people, before executing the Turkish officer of Gjirokastra. After that, the Ottoman army undertakes a campaign against the Mashkullora province, which turns into a symbol of the Albanian resistance and fight for independence. Teacher Hysen, who secretly teaches the Albanian language to the children, is also brutally killed.
Çerçiz Topulli, the real character of this film, was an Albanian revolutionary and guerrilla fighter involved in the Albanian national movement operating in the mountainous areas of southern Albania. He and his brother, Bajo Topulli, were known for fighting the Ottomans before Albania declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912.

Liri a Vdekje (Freedom or Death) is one of the few long feature films from AQSHF’s collection which negative elements have color fading problems and are in immediate need of restoration. Between 1978 and 1982, Albania suffered extreme isolation from the rest of the world due to the political and ideological policies pursued by the regime in power. The lack of base materials at the film lab in Kinostudio, such as new film stock and chemicals for film processing, was solved by using Orwo and Kodak film chemicals to bathe Agfa Geavert films. Because of using the wrong film chemicals and being deprived of many other lab processes, some of the films produced in the late 70ies have faded colors and we risk losing them forever. Freedom or Death is now a saved motion picture!