Cast & crew

Heart-Quake

2010
52m

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Only 26 years old, Shpresa is raising five children in the impoverished countryside of Kosovo. Uneducated and isolated, she and her husband donÂ’t quite understand the extent of their Down Syndrome baby sonÂ’s health problems, but know the situation is serious. So when ASVI, an Italian medical charity, examines the child and arranges life-saving heart surgery for him in Milan, Shpresa rejoices. Case worker Marinella quickly settles mother and son in an apartment where theyÂ’ll stay just long enough to recover from the operation before returning home. But in the days leading up to the surgery, a series of phone calls to her husband transforms the once attentive mother into a distracted woman no longer interested in the charityÂ’s care. Nimble cameras capture ShpresaÂ’s quicksilver moods and MarinellaÂ’s perplexed reactions to a situation neither woman ever anticipated.

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Shpresa is a native of Kosovo. She is 26 years old and has 5 children. This is the first time she is ever been outside her country. Shpetim, her youngest son, has a serious heart problem. Hi... Read allShpresa is a native of Kosovo. She is 26 years old and has 5 children. This is the first time she is ever been outside her country. Shpetim, her youngest son, has a serious heart problem. His only hope lies in a hospital in Milan, Italy. While she awaits his release from the hosp... Read allShpresa is a native of Kosovo. She is 26 years old and has 5 children. This is the first time she is ever been outside her country. Shpetim, her youngest son, has a serious heart problem. His only hope lies in a hospital in Milan, Italy. While she awaits his release from the hospital by herself, her husband from Kosovo demands she return home.