Five Romanian films in the running in Cannes

As many as five Romanian films are in the running at the Cannes Film Festival this year, two of which are vying for Palme d'Or.

Mihai Pelin, 11.05.2016, 14:05

Exceptional security measures have been taken for this year’s Cannes
Film Festival that takes place between May 11 and 22, given the recent
terrorist attacks in France. The state of emergency has been maintained in this
country, six months after the attacks in the capital city Paris. Tens of thousands
of filmmakers and fans are expected to attend this year’s edition of the
festival. Romania has five films in the competition.

After having won the Un
Certain Regard prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2005 for his dark comedy The Death of Mr.
Lazarescu, director Cristi Puiu is this time competing for the Palme d’Or
with his latest production, Sieranevada. The film, which is a
Romanian-Bosnian-Macedonian-Croatian-French co-production, is a
nearly three-hour drama about a family reunion gone awry. As the director
himself puts it, this film is the imperfect re-enactment of a commemoration.
It is the story, in short, of our irreversible madness. The film, which took
the director 42 days to shoot, had a big budget for a Romanian film, that is
1.4 million euros.

Another Romanian film that has
been included in this year’s official competition is Graduation, by
Cristian Mungiu. The film explores the challenges of being a parent in Romanian
society today. After having won the Palme d’Or in 2007 with 4 Months, 3
Weeks and 2 Days, Cristian Mingiu scored a new
success in 2012 when his film Beyond
the Hills picked up two important awards, for Best Screenplay and Best
Actress, the latter being awarded jointly to the two leading actresses, Cosmina
Stratan and Cristina Fluture.

The third
Romanian production to be presented in Cannes this week is the thriller Dogs,
the debut film of director Bogdan Mirica. The film competes in the Un Certain
Regard and Camera d’Or sections. The latter is awarded for best debut in the
official selection.

4:15 PM The End
of the World written and directed by Catalin
Rotaru and Gabi Virginia Sarga, both first time directors, is competing for a
Palme d’Or in the short-film competition. The film tells the story of a
life-changing encounter between a courier and a hitchhiker. When the hitchhiker
warns the courier that the end of the world is around the corner the courier
calls him crazy, without knowing this accidental encounter will change his life
forever. This independent film was shot in only 4 days.

Finally, Cannes’
Cinefondation section this year includes the Romanian film All Rivers Flow
into the Sea directed by Alexandru Badea and produced by the National
Theatre and Film University. The film tells the story of a boy who finds it
hard to cope with his mother’s death.