Mungiu has been filming under the radar in Romania, but the real life case of Irina Cornici exploded in the local press in June 2005 after her in Romania's Tanacu monastery. Four nuns and one monk have been convicted in 2008 for Cornici confinement followed by her death, and were expelled from the church.
The tragic death of Cornici, a 24 year old woman raised in an orphanage, who decided to stay in the monastery of Tanacu after visiting her friend, is a contrast between two different cultures. Modern medicine treated her psychotic episode triggered by the confession with neuroleptics, while those in the monastery considered her possessed by the devil.
The story inspired a documentary, For God's Sake/Cazul Tanacu, made by Tatiana Niculescu-Bran and Ionuţ Teianu in 2007, and for some years director Lucian Pintilie was working on a feature film.
Cristian Mungiu is producing Provisory/Provizoriu with his company Mobra Films (www.mobrafilms.ro). The project is coproduced by Les Films du Fleuve, the Belgian company of Jean-Luc and Pierre Dardenne, together with the French company Why Not Productions (www.whynotproductions.fr).
The sales agent Wild Bunch (www.wildbunch.biz) has picked up the project recently and will start pre-sales at the Berlinale 2012.
Provisory/Provizoriu was supported by Romanian National Centre for Cinema (www.cncinema.abt.ro) with a grant of 273,103 Euro
(1,188,000 RON) in November 2011. It also won a grant of 400,000 Euro from Eurimages (www.coe.int) in December 2011.
Production Information
Mobra Films
5 Intrarea Serdarului
Bucharest, Romania
Phone/ Fax: +40 21 6664827
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Les Films du Fleuve
13 Quai de Gaulle
4020 Liège, Belgique
Phone: +32 4 349 56 90
Fax : +32 4 349 56 96
www.lesfilmsdufleuve.be
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Why Not Productions
13 rue Victor Cousin
Paris V, France
www.whynotproductions.fr
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Credits
Director: Cristian Mungiu
Script: Cristian Mungiu