When she was young, Amernis Nokshiqi was challenged to become a ballerina, but inspired by her mother, who was also an actress, her love for theater and acting prevailed. Amernis is one of the most prolific Macedonian actresses – in her career of more than 20 years, she has performed numerous roles in the theater, on television screens and on the film screen. She was also part of the campaign against violence against women in Macedonia, as well as part of the campaign to support cancer patients in Kosovo.

– When I prepare a role, I do my best, or rather – I dig deep within myself to find similarities. Sometimes I find them, sometimes I don’t. Then I comfortably borrow a character from my environment, a character that is not known, by adapting it, so that of course it is a part of me and there is no escape – says Amernis, who has been part of the Albanian Theater in Skopje since 2004 .

She is the winner of several national and international awards for the best acting performance, including the award for the best female lead role in the film “I wanted to see the sun”, the award for the best female lead role for the play “Finger” in 2013 at the festival “Vojdan Chernodrinski”, the award for the best supporting female role in the play “Cabaret” at the same festival, as well as the recognition for the best acting performance at the international festival “Flaka e Janarit” in Kosovo.

– I would be lying if I said that awards do not mean anything to me. They are always welcome because they are an additional motivation to move forward, but they are not always authoritative. Sometimes a role requires a lot of commitment and is positively received, but it happens that it is not rewarded – adds Amernis.

In the column “When I was a student”, which we create in cooperation with Fakulteti.mk, we brought Amernis back to the college days, socializing, challenges.

I acted in front of a mirror, my deodorant was a microphone

Although she was an exemplary and excellent puple in the “Dame Gruev” elementary school, the story changed in her high school days. She studied to be a ballerina at the “Ilija Nikolovski-Luj” secondary school. She then found herself at the crossroads of choosing between her love for dance and the passion she developed for acting, primarily inspired by her mother.

– Things changed in high school when suddenly I started changing my mind and everything that interested me was outside the school desks. I was in love with ballet, but as time went on, my love for acting grew more and more. For me, dance is a free expression of feelings without a certain text, when you dance, you feel freedom and love. By the way, since I was little, I knew what I wanted to be in life. I had a role model, and that was my mother. Not that classical ballet was not a challenge for me, but acting was my first love. I remember acting in front of a mirror, singing different songs, and my deodorant was a microphone – recalls Amernis.

They thought Amernis was male…

Having grown up in an acting environment, Amernis felt extra pressure in the entrance exam for the School of Dramatic Arts to live up to her reputation while showing that she was not accepted because she was the daughter of an actress. The result was successful and she enrolled in the class of Professor Vladimir Milchin.

– At that time, the professor was our housemate, and there were no relationships with him. From that aspect, my work was threefold because I had to show and prove that I belong to that faculty. I remember a smile from the receptionist. Namely, when the first round ended and normally the second followed, where I had to work with one of my colleagues, I decided to work with Zoran Ljutkov. When I appeared there, he started looking at me strangely thinking that Amernis is a male name – says Amernis.

“Hello and may God help you,” said Professor Luzhina

The student period is one of the most beautiful in the life of Amernis, which she recalls with pleasure. Togetherness, friendships with colleagues, gatherings are only part of the arguments that make this part of her life special. “We were one of the few classes that were united, all for one, one for all,” says Amernis.

– Apart from acting, my favorite subjects were stage movements by Krenare Nevzati-Keri, who worked with us in a very interesting way and through their work made us get to know ourselves. Also, the subject of Macedonian drama and theater with prof. Jelena Luzhina, who was the only professor who instilled fear and trepidation in the students. Even the dean came to ask us to take exams with her in the first exam period. Her class would start with her bursting into the classroom with the words, “Hello and God help you.” However, her lectures were never boring, Amernis says.

“Once our whole class slept over at the university”

One day they studied at the place of one colleague, another day at the place of another, and the mothers were in charge of the “catering”, that is, bringing them food while they “combed” the material for the exam until late at night. This is further evidence of the bond Amernis had with her classmates at FDU. She finished college in the regular four years.

– Once the whole class slept over at the university, more precisely in the swimming pool (as we call the rooms where acting is done). We needed to do something together with our colleagues and decided to spend the night there. The next day at the subject of acting, Professor Milchin found out and started scolding us, and even the assistant Suzana Kiradziska started crying – reveals Amernis.

Talking from her experience, Amernis has a message for younger colleagues who are now paving the acting path at FDU.

– I tell them to read a lot, get to know themselves, believe in themselves and attend as many plays as possible. And as my professor would say: “When the actor is not working, he philosophizes”, and they shouldn’t do that – concludes Amernis.