Vizar Molina, the filmmaker behind the 2026 Sundance World Cinema Dramatic Competition Jury Award winner “Shame and Money,” has signed a representation contract with Cinetic.
Thanks to rule changes announced this month, the film will be eligible for the Academy Awards’ 2027 Best International Feature Film category. Under the new requirements, national or regional selection committees can still select international films to submit for consideration, but they can qualify by winning a designated top prize at one of the six approved film festivals. That’s a hurdle Shame and Money cleared thanks to its Sundance win.
“Shame and Money” follows Shaban and Hatice, hard-working dairy farmers raising three daughters in rural Kosovo. They have to face the harsh economic realities of living in urban areas with support from wealthy relatives after being forced out of their homes for illegal activities. The film received critical acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival and currently has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Yellow Affair handles worldwide sales.
Born in Kosovo, Molina moved to Germany at the age of 15 amid rising political tensions in the country. His work combines social realism and magical realism to explore the immigrant experience. His first feature, Babai, won the Best Director award at the 2015 Karlovy Vary Film Festival, and his previous film, Exile, starring Oscar nominee Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of the Fall), premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. “Exile” was performed in Berlin in 2020 and was Kosovo’s entry into the 2021 Academy Awards.
Cinetic’s management practice represents directors, writers and producers including Richard Linklater, Todd Haynes, Killer Films, David Gordon Green, Lana Wilson, Kevin McDonald, Amalia Ullman, Alejandro Grisi, Babak Jalali, Asif Kapadia, Robert Kaprow, Gabriel Sherman and James Pedersen.
Cinetic Media represents Molina across all media.
