Dua Wins the SACD Award at the 65th Semaine de la Critique during Cannes Film Festival
photo by Valon Bajgora, Ikonë Studio
Alva Film is pleased to announce that Dua, directed by Blerta Basholli and co-written by Blerta Basholli and Nicole Borgeat, has been awarded the SACD Award at the 65th Semaine de la Critique during the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.
The prize was presented by SACD-elected filmmakers Anne Villacèque, Catherine Corsini, and Axelle Ropert. In their jury statement, they described Dua as a film that portrays war as it has rarely been seen – not large-scale conflict, but the forgotten, unnamed wars to which civilians slowly and painfully adapt. At the centre of the film, Dua (Pinea Matoshi) is a 13-year-old girl who refuses that adaptation. Her gaze, in the jury's words, "explains nothing but illuminates everything."
Dua is a Kosovo/Switzerland/France co-production. The film is produced by Britta Rindelaub and Thomas Reichlin (Alva Film), Valon Bajgora (Ikonë Studio), and Amaury Ovise (Kazak Productions), with co-producers ARTE France Cinéma and RTS – Radio Télévision Suisse.
The Prix SACD, awarded annually at the Semaine de la Critique, recognises the author of a first or second feature film.