Elona Paja

Elona is an actress, director, producer, and screenwriter that graduated University of Arts of Tirana, Albania in 2001. For 19 years Elona worked as journalist, radio and TV talk show host, and film director at Albanian National Television. As a journalist, Elona has covered the culture, social, sports, and historical aspects of Albanian life all over the country. Elona has under her belt several documentaries and one TV series for children, all of which were well received by the public and the media while shown on Albanian National Television. In her earlier career, she acted in films like: "Une ti dhe Kasandra" (Me you and Cassandra), "Pas nje lajmi" (After the news), and "Dadoja e pallatit tone" (The babysitter in our building). Some of Elona's well-received documentaries are: "Rrefimi i nje prostitute" (The confessions of a prostitute) - screenwriter; "Lalo" - director/screenwriter; "Himara me shtate dege (Himara with seven branches) - screenwriter; "Saranda dhe thesaret e saj" (Saranda and its treasures) - screenwriter; "Blu" - director/screenwriter; "Rrefimi" (Confession) - director/screenwriter; "Visualize the invisible" - director; and "Koco Plaku" - director/screenwriter. Elona is the director/screenwriter of the first children's TV series in post-communist Albania, called "Dadoja e pallatit tone" (The babysitter of our building) For a couple of years, Elona resides in New York, USA, where she has been the host of several events organized by the Albanian community and is presently the Executive Director of New York True Venture Film Festival.