Muharrem Qena (22 June 1930 – 25 September 2006) was a

Kosovo Albanian The Albanians of Kosovo (, ), also commonly called Kosovo Albanians, Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars (), constitute the largest ethnic group in Kosovo. Kosovo Albanians belong to the ethnic Albanian sub-group of Ghegs, who inhabit the north of ...

actor, director, writer and singer. He went to high school in

Pristina Pristina or Prishtina ( , ), . is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and District of Pristina, district. In antiquity, the area of Pristina was part of the Dardanian Kingdo ...

and completed film school in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. He is among the noted directors who staged their works at the

National Theatre of Kosovo The National Theatre of Kosovo (; / ) was founded in 1946 in the city of Prizren, Kosovo. It is the highest ranked theatre institution in the country, with the largest number of productions. The National Theatre is the only public theatre in ...

. He was born in

Mitrovica, Kosovo Mitrovica ( Albanian indefinite form: ''Mitrovicë''; sr-Cyrl, Митровица, Mitrovica), also referred to as Kosovska Mitrovica ( sr-Cyrl, Косовска Митровица, Kosovska Mitrovica; Albanian: ''Mitrovica e Kosovës'') an ...

(then

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

) in 1930 and was one of the founders of the theatrical scene in Kosovo and of Albanian light music. He immersed his great talent of a theatre director, actor, writer and singer/songwriter into becoming one of the most fruitful artistic creators. Qena directed over 200 plays, several of which were awarded in the former

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, including ‘Bashkëshortet’, ''

The Lady of the Camellias ''The Lady of the Camellias'' (), sometimes called ''Camille'' in English, is a novel by Alexandre Dumas fils, Alexandre Dumas ''fils''. First published in 1848 and subsequently Theatrical adaptation, adapted by Dumas for the Drama, stage, the pl ...

'', '' Erveheja'', ''Men of Broken Hopes'', ''Enemy of the People'', ''Ambrosio'', etc. He remains one of the most awarded Kosovo artists. His production of ''Erveheja'' received five most renowned awards at the national meeting of theatres in 1967, in

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

. He also directed numerous TV dramas as well as short films and documentaries. Also, he performed as a film actor in ''Kapiten Lleshi'', ''Proka'', ''The rabbit with five paws'' and ''Kukumi''. The author of the awarded theatre play, ''Bashkeshortet'' and playwright of others staged in Kosovo. Funder of theatres in

Prizren Prizren ( sq-definite, Prizreni, ; sr-cyr, Призрен) is the second List of cities and towns in Kosovo, most populous city and Municipalities of Kosovo, municipality of Kosovo and seat of the eponymous municipality and District of Prizren, ...

Gjakova Gjakova or Đakovica, ) and Đakovica ( sr-Cyrl, Ђаковица, ) is the sixth largest city of Kosovo and seat of the Gjakova Municipality and the District of Gjakova, Gjakova District. According to the 2024 census, the municipality of Gjakov ...

and

Gnjilane Gjilan ( sq-definite, Gjilani) or Gnjilane ( sr-Cyrl, Гњилане) is the third most populous city in Kosovo and it serves as both a municipality and the administrative center of the Gjilan District. According to the 2024 census, the municip ...

. Singer and author of contemporary songs in the 60’s that resist the years: ''Kaçurrelja'', ''Shokut'', ''Lamtumirë'', ''Mine'', ''Tetori''. Qena was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at Kosovo’s international theatre festival in September 2004. He died on 25 September 2006, in Pristina. He had three daughters, one son, and five grandchildren.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Qena, Muharrem 1930 births 2006 deaths Musicians from Mitrovica, Kosovo Kosovan male actors Kosovan male film actors Kosovan singers 20th-century Albanian male singers Yugoslav male singers