{mosimage}In 2007, Crulic was arrested in Poland for theft and went on a hunger strike for four months to prove his innocence, writing in vain to the Romanian Consulate and asking for help. When news about his death came out, the Romanian Foreign Minister resigned, and the Romanian Consul was recalled by the President. An investigation was opened, and three Polish doctors were tried in court for letting Crulic die.
Crulic sau drumul spre dincolo/Crulic - The Path to Beyond is an animated documentary gathering data collected from files that Damian was permitted to read. Unlike Romanian journalists and with the help of the Polish co-producer, she was allowed to research every page in the files, she told FNE. She spent one year doing that, while also talking to the people involved: Crulic's family in Romania, Polish neighbours, doctors, prosecutors, his cellmate, and prison representatives.
{mosimage}The project creatively mixes handmade animation, photographs, documents, facts and figures. Elena Vlădăreanu contributed to Damian's script as adviser for the narration. The Romanian designers are Dan Panaitescu, Raluca Popa, Roxana Bentu, Dragoş Ştefan, and Tuliu Olteanu. The story is told from the point of view of Claudiu Crulic, who is voiced by Vlad Ivanov (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days). The sound postproduction, by Piotr Witkowski and Sebastian Włodarczyk, took place in Poland at Alvena Studios, where the music composed by Piotr Dziubek was recorded.
Damian, who produced with Aparte Film (www.apartefilm.net) told FNE that she received funding from Fundacja im. Ferdynanda Magellana (www.fmagellan.pl) through the Polish co-producer Arkadiusz Wojnarowsky, and support of 50,000 euro from the Polish Film Institute (www.pisf.pl) at the end of 2009. The Regional Fund Krakow/the Krakow Film Commission (http://www.film-commission.pl/en/o-film-comission/krakow-film-fund) is also supporting the project with 10,000 euro, and the Romanian Ministry of Culture and Editura Video (www.editura-video.ro) granted 46,000 euro.
The Romanian National Centre for Cinema (www.cncinema.abt.ro) gave the project a development grant in November 2008, and a production grant of 82,000 euro in 2010. The budget is 281,000 euro.
The project had also the support of the Romanian Cultural Institute from Warsaw (http://www.icr.ro/varsovia) and from DSG Visual Effects and Animation (www.dsg.ro).
The film wasn't initially planned to be screened in regular distribution but extremely positive reactions during screenings at the International Film Festivals in Bucharest, Pusan and Warsaw convinced the Polish coproducer to release it in Polish studio cinemas on 1 December 2011, preceded by discussions about human rights in contemporary Europe. The producer told FNE that the Polish version is voiced by the popular Polish actor Maciej Stuhr, a strategy to draw more viewers to the film and its topic.
Wide Management (www.widemanagement.com) is handling the world sales.
Production Information
Aparte Film
165/3/21, Calea Călăraşi
030614 Bucharest, Romania
Phone/Fax: +40.21.320.41.28
www.apartefilm.net
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Polish Film Institute
Ul. Krakowskie Przedmieście 21/23, 00-071 Warszawa
Phone: +48 22 42 10 130
Fax: +48 22 42 10 241
www.pisf.pl
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International Co-productions:
Kinga Gałuszka
Phone: +48 22 42 10 386
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Robert Baliński
Phone: +48 22 42 10 386
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Credits
Director: Anca Damian
Script: Anca Damian
Artwork and Animation: Dan Panaitescu
Raluca Popa
Roxana Bentu
Tuliu Oltean
Dragoş Ştefan
Music: Piotr Dziubek
Sound: Piotr Witkowski
Sebastian Włodarczyk
Voices: Vlad Ivanov
Jamie Sives
