The screening was held during an exchange event held at Tirana’s Europe House.
Representatives of 21 grantee organisations of new EU-funded projects of CSF and EIDHR, were invited to network, share and build synergies.
The documentary, which was directed by film-maker Elton Baxhaku, covers the decade-long grassroots struggle by local communities, activists and civil society organisations against hydropower plant projects that threaten the environment, the water supplies of local communities and their livelihoods that are based on sustainable tourism.
In the past two decades, the Albanian government has approved over 500 hydropower plant projects on its rivers and streams, which environmentalists say threaten some of the last unspoiled river systems in Europe.
The documentary focuses on three areas, the Shebenik Jabllanica National Park, the Vjosa River and the Valbona National Park – following local villagers, community rights activists, scientists and artists as they struggle to voice their concerns over hydropower plant projects, challenge concession contracts in court and protest in the streets to encourage support for their cause.
Elton Baxhaku is an acclaimed Albanian film-maker, best known for his 2014 documentary ‘Skandal’ and the 2016 documentary ‘Selita’, which was co-directed by Eriona Cami.
During the summer of 2018, BIRN Albania will take the documentary ‘Free Flow’ on the road and hold screenings in affected communities near the Vjosa River, the Valbona Valley and the Shebenik-Jabllanica National Park.