In 2003, Olimbi Hoxhaj learns that her husband has died of AIDS and that she and three of her children are HIV positive. In Albania at the time, the diagnosis means certain death. Refusing to accept this fate, Olimbi begins a fight that will eventually change HIV treatment and public awareness in her country. Through intimate archives and a unique laboratory of memory where actors reconstruct key moments from her past, the film follows the transformation of an ordinary mother into a woman who challenged an entire system.

Karlo Mlinar

Karlo Mlinar is a filmmaker, actor, and journalist with a deep passion for documentary storytelling. A graduate of the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb (2017), Mlinar has been a member of the Kerempuh Satirical Theatre ensemble, performing in numerous plays. In 2018, he expanded his artistic education at the New York Film Academy, attending an intensive summer program focused on film direction.

Mlinar’s interest in documentary filmmaking led him to complete a graduate degree in journalism (2023),where he specialized in the impact of streaming platforms on documentary cinemain Croatia. In 2021, he attended Restart’s documentary film school, further refining his skills in observational and hybrid documentary formats. His work combines performative elementswith intimate, real-life storytelling, an approachcentral to Olimbi – Mother Courage.

His connection to Olimbi Hoxhaj’s story is deeply personal. After meeting Olimbi in 2019 on a flight to Tirana, he became the social media manager for her HIV/AIDS advocacy organization. Over time, he developed a strong personal bond with Olimbi and her children, considering them his Albanian family. His own experiences with discrimination and marginalization further deepened his commitment to telling this story, recognizing it as a universal narrative of resilience, injustice, and human dignity.

With Olimbi – Mother Courage, Mlinar makes his feature-length directorial debut, blending documentary realism with theatrical reconstruction to craft a film that is as poeticas it is politically urgent.