Muharrem Qena, director, actor, playwright, singer-songwriter, passed away in Pristina. He was born in Mitrovica, in 1930. He completed primary school in his hometown, while secondary school in Pristina. He studied at the High School of Film (film acting branch) in Belgrade, then studied theater directing at the Academy for Film, Radio and Theater in Belgrade. In 1964, he attended a theater specialization course for a few months in Poland. He started his artistic career as an actor and assistant director in 1948, at the Provincial People’s Theater of Pristina. The beginnings of professional work in the Theater of Mitrovica and in the Theater of Prizren are also connected with his name. In the years 1954-1956, in the Theater of Mitrovica he staged the plays “Besa” (“The Pledge”), “Burri i mashtruem“ (“The deceived husband”), “Vocrraku im“ (“My little one”), “Mërgimtarët“ (“Migrants”), “Nuk martohem më parë“ (“I won’t mary before”), “Fejesa“ (“The engagement”) etc. From 1977 onwards, he performed shows at the People’s Theater of Gjakova: “Fisheku në pajë“ (“Cartridge in the dowry”), “Pjata e drunjtë“ (“The wooden plate”), “Vocrraku im“ (“My little one”), etc. He is also known as a film actor in “Kur pranvera vonohet” (“When spring is delayed”) “Lepuri me pesë këmbë“ “The rabbit with five feet”), etc.), as a dramatist with the drama “Bashkëshortët“ (“Spouses”), as a director of television films and documentaries (1975-1985) at Prishtina Television, as an author dramatizations and radio dramas, as well as as a singer-songwriter of some entertaining songs. His masterpiece in the theater is the play “Erveheja” (1966). The play received awards as the best play in the prestigious theater festivals of the former Yugoslavia. For his artistic work as an actor and director in the theater, he received many awards and recognition from the institutions of the country and from various professional organizations. He passed away in Mitrovica, in 1930. (In the photo: Muharrem Qena)
Text: The encyclopedic dictionary of Kosovo – Vol. II , Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo, Prishtina, 2018, page 1352.
Photo: © https://mubi.com/cast/muharrem-qena
Graphic processing: AHCF
