Anisa Selenica is the director of "A Journey to Freedom."
The documentary traces her family's history under Communist rule in Albania and their courageous journey to freedom.
What began as a 25-minute high school documentary in 2016 has grown into a much larger project: a living record of resistance, resilience, and reinvention.
Selenica, who is a first-generation Albanian-American, now lives in Chicago with her family.
Through the film, Selenica hopes audiences don't just learn about history-they feel it.
"I am a filmmaker at the start of my career, and this project-my first feature-length documentary-is both deeply personal and socially resonant," Selenica said. "This film goes beyond honoring my family's legacy-it serves a broader purpose. Through intimate storytelling, it sheds light on a chapter of world history too often overlooked: the lived experiences of ordinary people under a repressive regime."
Selenica is currently fundraising to raise the money to complete her documentary. You can support "A Journey to Freedom" here.