{"id":73825,"date":"2026-01-30T07:01:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T06:01:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/?p=73825"},"modified":"2026-01-28T13:52:33","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T12:52:33","slug":"the-politics-of-absence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/magazine\/the-politics-of-absence\/","title":{"rendered":"The Politics of Absence"},"content":{"rendered":"

As resident editor for the month of January of 2026 at A*DESK entitled The Politics of Absence,<\/em> I have chosen to focus on the emergence of women filmmakers across the Western Balkans, with particular attention to the new wave of cinema coming from Kosovo. Beyond their explicitly feminist perspective, what strikes me most about many of these films is a shared poetics of absence.<\/p>\n

Across their practice, these filmmakers place absence\u2014whether emotional, historical, or physical\u2014is placed at the very center of their cinematic inquiry. It is not treated as a void, but as a generative space: one from which to question what has been silenced, erased, hidden, lost or rendered invisible. These films insist on absence as something active and unresolved, a condition that shapes subjectivity, memory, and social life.<\/p>\n

To expand this reflection, I have invited journalists from across the region, alongside filmmakers themselves, to reflect on the power of cinema to make visible what patriarchy, history, and structures of power have persistently sought to keep unseen. What emerges is a constellation of perspectives that foreground women\u2019s subjectivities, memories, trauma, and everyday experiences as legitimate\u2014and urgent\u2014political terrain.<\/p>\n

This month\u2019s programme unfolds through several interconnected contributions: Dafina Halili<\/a><\/strong> opens the issue with Shaping Stories: Kosovo\u2019s Women-Led New Wave Cinema<\/em><\/strong>, tracing how a generation of filmmakers is redefining both national cinema and the conditions of visibility within it. This is followed by Between Anger and Tenderness: Two Kosovar Filmmakers in Dialogue<\/em><\/strong>, a conversation between Antoneta Kastrati and Kaltrina Krasniqi<\/a><\/strong>, where absence takes shape through bodies, grief, law, and inherited silence.<\/p>\n

The dialogue continues with Kumjana Novakova and Norika Sefa<\/a><\/strong> in Between Absence and Presence: A Feminist Reimagining of Cinema from the Balkans<\/em><\/strong>, reflecting on the approach of cinema as a space for political questioning. Through absence, archives, and memory, their dialogue proposes new ways of narrating the past and present. Finally, Gresa Hasa<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s essay Balkan Kinoscope: Bridging Past and Present Through a Reclaimed Gaze<\/strong><\/em> situates these practices within a broader regional history<\/a>, showing how feminist filmmaking opens critical passages between past and present, memory and power.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As resident editor for the month of January of 2026 at A*DESK entitled The Politics of Absence, I have chosen to focus on the emergence of women filmmakers across the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2962,"featured_media":73828,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7117],"tags":[5750,7154,7126,7128,7127],"coauthors":[7182],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Politics of Absence<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\""The Politics of Absence", editorial text of JANUARY, the first month of 2026 by resident editor Besa Luci\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/?p=73834\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Politics of Absence\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\""The Politics of Absence", editorial text of JANUARY, the first month of 2026 by resident editor Besa Luci\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/?p=73834\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A*Desk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-30T06:01:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-28T12:52:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/The-Politics-of-Absence-Collage-editorial-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Besa Luci\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Besa Luci\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/?p=73834\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/?p=73834\",\"name\":\"The Politics of Absence\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/?p=73834#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/?p=73834#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/The-Politics-of-Absence-Collage-editorial-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-30T06:01:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-28T12:52:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/555f8de63a9ea6d1bb853a58a9e3b487\"},\"description\":\"\\\"The Politics of Absence\\\", editorial text of JANUARY, the first month of 2026 by resident editor Besa Luci\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/?p=73834#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/?p=73834\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/?p=73834#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/The-Politics-of-Absence-Collage-editorial-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/The-Politics-of-Absence-Collage-editorial-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":2560,\"caption\":\"The Politics of Absence, Collage de 9 posters de pelis\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/?p=73834#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Portada\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Politics of Absence\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/\",\"name\":\"A*Desk\",\"description\":\"A*Desk Critical Thinking\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/555f8de63a9ea6d1bb853a58a9e3b487\",\"name\":\"Besa Luci\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/918a0d3957a08b1c1fa6e9b394cf4c8a\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/47cc3abf9a305c4b7b2d37602d5f570e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/47cc3abf9a305c4b7b2d37602d5f570e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Besa Luci\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/autor\/besaluci\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Politics of Absence","description":"\"The Politics of Absence\", editorial text of JANUARY, the first month of 2026 by resident editor Besa Luci","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/?p=73834","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Politics of Absence","og_description":"\"The Politics of Absence\", editorial text of JANUARY, the first month of 2026 by resident editor Besa Luci","og_url":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/?p=73834","og_site_name":"A*Desk","article_published_time":"2026-01-30T06:01:17+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-28T12:52:33+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":2560,"url":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/The-Politics-of-Absence-Collage-editorial-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Besa Luci","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Besa Luci","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/?p=73834","url":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/?p=73834","name":"The Politics of Absence","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/?p=73834#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/?p=73834#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/The-Politics-of-Absence-Collage-editorial-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-01-30T06:01:17+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-28T12:52:33+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/555f8de63a9ea6d1bb853a58a9e3b487"},"description":"\"The Politics of Absence\", editorial text of JANUARY, the first month of 2026 by resident editor Besa Luci","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/?p=73834#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/a-desk.org\/?p=73834"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/?p=73834#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/The-Politics-of-Absence-Collage-editorial-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/The-Politics-of-Absence-Collage-editorial-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":2560,"caption":"The Politics of Absence, Collage de 9 posters de pelis"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/?p=73834#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Portada","item":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Politics of Absence"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/","name":"A*Desk","description":"A*Desk Critical Thinking","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/555f8de63a9ea6d1bb853a58a9e3b487","name":"Besa Luci","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/918a0d3957a08b1c1fa6e9b394cf4c8a","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/47cc3abf9a305c4b7b2d37602d5f570e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/47cc3abf9a305c4b7b2d37602d5f570e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Besa Luci"},"url":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/autor\/besaluci\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73825"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2962"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73825"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73886,"href":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73825\/revisions\/73886"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73825"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=73825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}