Alban Ukaj was born in 1980 in Pristina, Kosovo. He graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo in 2006. As an actor, he received numerous best actor theatre awards in the region. Ukaj is a permanent member of the SARTR theatre  ensemble in Sarajevo.

 

Ukaj's filmography includes roles in FUSE by Pjer Žalica, NOTRE MUSIQUE by Jean-Luc Godard, MAGIC EYE by Kjutim Cashku, ALL FOR FREE by Antonio Nuić, NIGHTGUARDS by Namik Kabil, LA SILENCE DE LORNA by Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne, awarded at the Cannes Film Festival, ON THE PATH by Jasmila Žbanić, J.A.C.E. by Menelaos Karamaghiolis, DREAMS by Rešad Kulenović, BOTA by Iris Elezi, awarded at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, THE MARRIAGE by Blerta Zeqiri, awarded at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Oscar nominated QUO VADIS, AIDA? and most recently he stared in Dardenne borthers' TORI AND LOKITA, that premiered in Cannes in 2022, while the series KOTLINA in which Ukaj plays, directed by Oscar wining director Danis Tanovic is in post-production. Ukaj won a price for outstanding actor in Cottbus film fest for the role of Hamza in a movie directed my Nermin Hamzagic FULL MOON wich was also nominated for European Academy Award. His first short feature film HORSE, for which he wrote the screenplay as well, has been awarded at several international festivals in Europe and America.

 

Besides Albanian and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian language, Ukaj fluently speaks English language and has recently successfuly mastered French.