RRI Live!

Listen to Radio Romania International Live

Film directors Cristian Mungiu and Bogdan Mirica

Romanian films have this year been well represented in the International Film Festival in Cannes, among which Graduation, which brought Cristian Mungiu the best director award and Bogdan Miricas “Dogs, winner of the FIPRESCI award.

Film directors Cristian Mungiu and Bogdan Mirica
Film directors Cristian Mungiu and Bogdan Mirica

, 06.08.2016, 14:00

Five Romanian movies were selected to participate in the festivals 17th edition: Cristi Puius feature film “Sieranevada, a début short reel entitled “4:15 P.M. End of the World written and directed by Catalin Rotaru and Gabi Virginia Sarga, “All rivers flow into the sea, a Romanian Film Academy short reel, directed by Alexandru Badea, (running in the Cinefondation section) along with two winning productions, “Graduation, which brought Cristian Mungiu the best director award and Bogdan Miricas “Dogs, winner of the FIPRESCI award in the “Un Certain Regard section.


We recall that Cristian Mungiu has reaped three Cannes awards with his productions. “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days brought him the Palme dOr award in 2007. Another production signed by him, “Beyond the Hills got Best Screenplay Award and Best Actress Award, which went to Cristina Flutur and Cosmina Stratan in 2012. In 2016 Mungiu shared the Best Director Award with French Olivier Assayas. A well deserved and also honouring award, as was described by Mungiu himself, mainly because the film has been appreciated by the public from abroad and from the Diaspora. As the Romanian director pointed out, “we are more appreciated abroad than in our own country. Director Mungiu confesses that he takes into account public preferences when it comes to choosing the future plots of his films.



Cristian Mungiu: “There is a connection between the things that I am concerned about and those that may have an impact on the public. Out of this mélange I am trying to churn out a film, which is not intended to be a socio-political course, or social discourse, but a cinema production with some action and things that are happening. When I made ‘4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days I wasn’t trying to make a movie that would be critical to communism. I presented only an event that I knew of back then. Its important that people knew they are watching a movie. And if besides emotions that movie is also asking some questions, all the better.



Not only is Mungius latest film, “Graduation or “Baccalaureate raising questions but also touches a sensitive chord with the Romanians: “corruption. Furthermore, the film is in line with Mungius first production “Occident, which he made in 2002, a comedy about the young Romanians dilemma, to stay or to leave the country. “Graduation speaks about those who chose to live in Romania but facing the same dilemma when it comes to their children. But can we speak about a series that was opened by “Occident and closes with “Graduation?



Cristian Mungiu: “I would be happy if this series ended here, but sadly I believe it will remain open and well even pass it to our children. I didn’t expect that 15 years on from ‘Occident wed be at this point now. I hoped things would develop differently but now I have to revisit the issue from a different angle, that of a parent with much more concerns than I had 15 years back. At that time we thought we could change the world for everybody, including parents. Today, when I think how parents should advise children, I realize the progress is not what we wanted and its difficult to give advice or make decisions. So I have revisited this theme, a reason of concern for many parents at my age.



Bogdan Mirica, whose feature film “Dog has been designated by the FIPRESCI jury as the best production running in the “Un Certain Regard section, made his début in 2010 with a film entitled “Junkie. He said he discovered the cinema at the age of 30 when he began to write scripts. But what is the most important part in a film? Its the plot, the script or the directors inspiration?



Bogdan Mirica: “In the case of my film I preferred not to focus on the story very much, because its not very difficult to write a coherent story. I just wanted to experiment with sensations and make a punchy film, but not necessarily through story…through atmosphere, through everything. I wanted it to have an impact, not necessarily supported by the story. That doesn’t mean however the story is sloppy, but that it has some parts missing or uncompleted and its the viewer that could put pieces together.



As a scriptwriter for his own films, Bogdan Mirica admits that a film usually stems from a mélange of feelings, before laying down its concrete blueprint. This is how things happened with his award-winning “Dogs:



Bogdan Mirica: “I begin writing from a feeling, from an emotion, which could be pretty unclear at first, but slowly and gradually things are falling into place and I set out to build a real story around that feeling. In this case its about some memories of my childhood, while I was spending my summer holidays at my grandparents in the countryside. There I witnessed conflicts between locals, and some of them were pretty violent. After years I realized I wasn’t much horrified by violence at that time but by its randomness. I didn’t care very much about the idea of reconstructing that reality, though. The film isn’t a realistic one, characters are almost always talking in riddles and time is unreal. I was told the atmosphere in the film is almost Chekhovian and this how I wanted it to be. And if in the future I get the feeling that all these tricks are becoming obsolete and I need to get rid of them and come closer to reality, Ill probably do that.

Foto: facebook.com/Clara.the.Romanian.school.teacher
World of Culture Saturday, 23 November 2024

Romanian recent award-winning film productions

Clara is a feature-length film directed by Sabin Dorohoi. A fresh production, with a strong impact, focusing on a major and necessary topic, Clara...

Romanian recent award-winning film productions
World of Culture Saturday, 16 November 2024

The New Year that Never Came

The New Year that Never Came, written and directed by Bogdan Mureșanu, was proposed on the list of films that will be considered for nomination at...

The New Year that Never Came
Festivalul Național de Teatru (sursa foto: Festivalul Național de Teatru)
World of Culture Saturday, 09 November 2024

The National Theater Festival

The 34th edition of the National Theatre Festival, hosted by theatres and various non-conventional spaces in Bucharest, turned into a true marathon...

The National Theater Festival
Foto: mnir.ro
World of Culture Saturday, 02 November 2024

The Natural Dyes Exhibition at the History Museum

The National History Museum of Romania (NHMR) presents, starting in mid-September, a new exhibition: “Natural dyes. From museum scientific...

The Natural Dyes Exhibition at the History Museum
World of Culture Saturday, 26 October 2024

EXT. CAR. NIGHT, a new film by Andrei Crețulescu

EXT. CAR. NIGHT, the second feature film directed and written by Andrei Crețulescu, stars four emblematic actors of the new wave who play multiple...

EXT. CAR. NIGHT, a new film by Andrei Crețulescu
World of Culture Saturday, 12 October 2024

Ciao, Italy! Animest 19

After having gathered 15 thousand viewers in front of the cinema screens at the previous edition, the International Animation Film Festival –...

Ciao, Italy! Animest 19
World of Culture Saturday, 05 October 2024

Bestiary, a Vanner Collective project

The independent theatre company Vanner Collective is known for its original initiatives in the Romanian cultural space, translating burning social...

Bestiary, a Vanner Collective project
World of Culture Saturday, 28 September 2024

Niko Becker, Gopo Film Festival’s Young Hopeful

28Actor Niko Becker in 2024 scooped the Gopo Award in the Young Hopefuls category as part of the Gopo Film Festival, for Dumitru, his role in the...

Niko Becker, Gopo Film Festival’s Young Hopeful

Partners

Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român
Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS
Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online
Institului European din România Institului European din România
Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti
Muzeul Național de Artă al României Muzeul Național de Artă al României
Le petit Journal Le petit Journal
Radio Prague International Radio Prague International
Muzeul Național de Istorie a României Muzeul Național de Istorie a României
ARCUB ARCUB
Radio Canada International Radio Canada International
Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti” Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti”
SWI swissinfo.ch SWI swissinfo.ch
UBB Radio ONLINE UBB Radio ONLINE
Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl
creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti
italradio italradio
Institutul Confucius Institutul Confucius
BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți

Affiliates

Euranet Plus Euranet Plus
AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters
Digital Radio Mondiale Digital Radio Mondiale
News and current affairs from Germany and around the world News and current affairs from Germany and around the world
Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona

Providers

RADIOCOM RADIOCOM
Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company