Elisabeth Moss And Her Love & Squalor Team Board As Exec Producers of Sundance-Winner ‘HIVE’

Elisabeth Moss and Lindsey McManus at Love & Squalor Pictures are coming on board as executive producers on the Blerta Basholli-directed HIVE, which debuted in competition at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival where it became the first film in the history of the festival to win all three main awards—the Grand Jury Prize, the Audience Award, and the Directing Award—in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition. The film was also selected as Kosovo’s official entry for Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy AwardsⓇ.

HIVE is now playing in select theaters in the U.S courtesy of Zeitgeist Films in association with Kino Lorber, and will continue to expand nationwide and to additional international territories. The film opened in New York to the highest grosses for any film since Film Forum reopened following the pandemic.

“HIVE is an unforgettable, eloquent moving story about the will of survival and empowerment through an unflinching vision,” said Moss and McManus. “The film’s intimate portrayal of a woman’s struggle towards independence moves us to understand the possibility for change, and Blerta’s powerful storytelling masterfully captures the self determination of individuals all over the world to overcome oppression.”

HIVE is a searing drama based on the true story of Fahrije who, like many of the other women in her patriarchal village, has lived with fading hope and burgeoning grief since her husband went missing during the war in Kosovo in the late 1990s. In order to provide for her struggling family, she pulls the other widows in her community together to launch a business selling ajvar, a local food product from peppers and eggplants, and together they find healing and solace in considering a future without their husbands.

Said Basholli: “I have long admired the work of Elisabeth Moss and am honored that she and Lindsey McManus have joined us as partners in our project. I could not be more proud or excited. At the core of HIVE, Fahrije Hoti was able to overcome adversity and build her business because of the support of the women in her community. To have the support of Elisabeth Moss and Lindsey McManus as partners in sharing Fahrije’s story makes my heart burst. HIVE is about giving hope, and the journey of this film has just been given even more hope with these amazing women joining our team.”

They join Yll Uka, Valon Bajgora, Agon Uka as exec producers. Pic is produced by Yll Uka, Valon Bajgora, Agon Uka. Co-producers are Britta Rindelaub, Tomi Salkovski, Paskal Semini. The film was written by Basholli, shot by Alex Bloom, and stars Yllka Gashi in the lead role.

Love & Squalor Pictures’ upcoming series Shining Girls, in which Moss also stars, will debut this Spring on Apple TV+.LevelK is handling international sales, and CAA Media Finance is representing U.S.