Marika Kallamata, an actress and “Deserved Artist,” passed away in Tirana. She was born in Fier in 1930. In 1950, she graduated from the artistic high school “Jordan Misja” and began working at the People’s Theater the same year. She played a variety of secondary and episodic roles, breathing life into original characters. She stood out with her role as a servant in Goldoni’s comedy “Mirandolina“, but the role that made her widely known was that of Aspasia in Spiro Çomora’s comedy “Karnavalet e Korçës” (“The Carnivals of Korçë”) in 1964. With her acting, she skillfully mocked the superstitious beliefs, ignorance, and snobbery of provincial women, thanks to her distinctive physicality, expressive acting mask, expressive gestures, masculine voice mimicry, and numerous detailed nuances that helped create a unique character. Marika Kallamata was a character actress, mostly specializing in comic and grotesque roles; she knew how to effectively utilize plastic elements, dialectal speech, and even street jargon; she created interesting appearances, nuanced details, and generated spontaneous humor because of her adaptation to the circumstances and settings. In cinema, she played 14 small and supporting roles, all character-driven, starting with the film “Fëmijët e saj” (“Her Children”) in 1957 and continuing with others such as “Dollia e dasmës sime” (“The Toast of My Wedding”) in the role of Xhiko, “Kur hidheshin themelet” (“When the Foundations Were Laid”) in the role of Hava, “Ëndërr për një karrige” (“Dream for a Chair”) in the role of Ishe, “Një baba tepër” (“One too many Fathers”) in the role of Filomena, and so on. Marika Kallamata became widely known and beloved for her warm, captivating, suggestive storytelling style, with one of the broadest audiences, especially for her role as the grandmother in the fairy tale program for children on Albanian Television. (In the photo: Marika Kallamata)
Text: Josif Papagjoni
Photo: © https://observerkult.com/marika-kallamata-aktorja-qe-nuk-harrohet-kurre/
Graphic processing: AHCF
