Trapped between planning her father’s birthday, which quickly turns into planning his funeral, an unwanted pregnancy and a legacy of intergenerational trauma, Rita begins a battle with the customs that shaped her but never accepted her.

Type

feature

Status

development

Year

2028

Country

Kosovo

Duration

90 min

Production company

CMB Productions

Credits

Producer

Shkumbin Istrefi

Director

Mentor Shala

Scriptwriter

Lyra Xhoci

Co-production companies

Grishaj Production

Budget & financing

Synopsis

Adet is a deep psychological journey into the mind and soul of Rita, a woman in her thirties, caught in an existential and spiritual crisis, trapped in a patriarchal system where every woman learns to stay silent before she speaks. In a town where the sounds of weddings and funerals blend daily, and where the word “adet” (custom) weighs more than the law, Rita faces the absurdity of traditions in a world that consumes her without mercy. Turned into an obsessive-compulsive “robot,” simply to maintain the imaginary crown of the “good girl” because “that’s how it should be,” and because “that’s how adet is,” Rita navigates her days with endless “To-Do Lists.” When her top of her list is organizing the birthday of the person she loves most—her father, who is sick with cancer, followed by the search for chemotherapy for him on the black market and dealing with calls from the bank to save the restaurant from her abusive partner with whom she’s secretly expecting a child, Rita’s priorities quickly shift after a single, ordinary appointment with the oncologist. Her father’s illness has advanced, and any effort to secure the chemo ends there. While keeping everything a secret, especially from her father, buying Dad’s birthday cake soon turns into buying dad’s casket! But will the love and sacrifice of the “good girl” be enough to stop death? In this journey toward breaking, Rita confronts her mother and grandmother—two women who, like her, have been wounded by the system but chose to obey. Now, unspoken words and the voices of women who never had a stage, rise within her like a silent choir. Will her father live to celebrate his birthday, or will Rita give him the best funeral ever seen? In trying to win every battle—adhering to adet and the wishes of her mother and grandmother as a continuation of intergenerational trauma—will Rita accept the loss, or will loss take on a new meaning, leading her to find her own salvation? A salvation that still has no name, but for the first time, may belong to Rita alone?! Adet is a drama about silences that kill, about traditions that suffocate, and about a spirit that refuses to be replaced by shame. One woman. One voice. A confrontation with centuries of silence endured by Albanian women. An abandoned car in the middle of the road, a phone that won’t stop ringing next to a torn list, and a rain falling under the sounds of “Believe in the Sun” will become the meaning and explanation of ADET.