Hive, September 27 (virtual):  A screening as part of Ashland Independent Film Festival’s World Film Week(s) 

Based on the real-life trials and triumph of a Kosovar woman widowed by the late ’90s war that killed over 13,000 people, Hive is a poetic drama with a deeply feminist message. Struggling to provide for her children, Fahrije (Yllka Gashi) begins to take some steps for her independence: getting her driver’s license and starting a small business. In much of the Western world, these decisions would hardly make waves, but in the patriarchal culture of Kosovo, they bring torrents of abuse from the men in Fahrije’s village and her traditionalist father-in-law. In its humble way and almost documentary-like pacing overseen by first-time filmmaker Blerta Basholli, Hive becomes a powerful hero’s journey.