Oscilloscope Acquires North American Rights to Kosovo Family Drama Shame and Money

Oscilloscope Laboratories has acquired North American rights to Shame and Money, the third feature by Visar Morina, and plans a cinema release in early 2027. Variety reported the deal on 28 October 2026. North America here means the United States and Canada.

The film follows a couple in their 40s who live with their extended family in rural Kosovo. They make a modest living from their farm. Sundance describes the story as a family's struggle against inequality and precarity, a word for work and money that never feels secure. Astrit Kabashi, Flonja Kodheli, Kumrije Hoxa, Fiona Gllavica and Alban Ukaj star. Morina wrote the script with Doruntina Basha.

The film has already travelled a long way. It won the Grand Jury Prize, the top jury award, in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival in January. Several other festivals have followed, including the Cinemasters Jury Prize at FilmFest Munich. At Prifest Kosovo it won best film and best actor. At the ODA Film Festival it took four prizes, for best movie, actress, actor and script.

Behind the awards sits a team that spans several countries. Sundance lists the film as a co-production of Germany, Kosovo, Slovenia, Albania, North Macedonia and Belgium. Fabian Altenried, Sophie Ahrens and Kristof Gerega produced it for Schuldenberg Films, with Pia Hellenthal and Morina also credited as producers.

Sales are handled by The Yellow Affair, a sales agent. That is the company that offers a film to distributors in each country and signs the deals. The Yellow Affair has already licensed the rights in several territories. Arizona Distribution has France, Falcon has Indonesia, Mirror Audiovisual has Spain, Trigon has Switzerland and Filmarti has Turkey. Eksystent Filmverleih released the film in cinemas in Germany in September.

Morina is represented by Cinetic Media. His earlier features are Exile and Babai, and this is the first of his films to reach North American distribution in a deal announced with a set cinema window. Oscilloscope has not yet named a date for the release.

For a festival film, the journey from a prize to a cinema seat usually takes many months. Sales agents and distributors work through that gap, selling territory by territory before a single ticket is sold. This one now has a North American partner and a planned spring-or-later opening in 2027.