The script written by Adrian Voicu is based on his own experience during the protests in Romania in 2017-2019.
Sami is a visual artist. He films everything that captures his interest. Tonight, he is going with his girlfriend to a party where street protests are the subject of an impromptu performance. The artist’s hub is filled with projection screens, alcohol and philosophical discussions. The event seems emptied of substance for Sami, who decides to go to the real protests. In the square, out of nowhere, a crowd of gendarmes pounce on Sami forcing him inside the gendarmerie van, where he witnesses terrifying violence against an innocent man.
The main character is played by French actor Yann Verburgh, and the cast includes Romanian actors Nicoleta Lefter, Marius Cordoș, Rolando Matsangos, Valentin Terente and Simona Măicănescu.
Marcian Lazăr is producing and Katya Trichkova is the coproducer. The budget of approximately 600,000 EUR is partly covered by production grants from the Romanian Film Centre (CNC) and the Bulgarian National Film Center (BNFC). The project participated in the CineLink Co-production Market within the Sarajevo Film Festival in 2020.
“The financing of the film was quite low, the COVID-19 tricked us and forced us to delay the beginning of the shooting by two weeks, and the main shooting was halted due to COVID-19 outbreak. Shooting the protests was another challenge because it is virtually impossible to do that in the University Square in Bucharest, but Adrian found a very interesting solution”, producer Marcian Lazăr told FNE when asked about the challenges of the production.
The film was shot in Bucharest in January-March 2022 by Bulgarian cinematographer Krum Rodriguez, and it is set to be domestically released in 2023. No sales agent or distributor is attached yet.
In 2011, Adrian Voicu co-directed together with Ana Vlad his first long film, the documentary Metrobranding– A Love Story Between People and Objects / Metrobranding– O poveste de dragoste între oameni și obiecte, produced by Mandragora.
In 2019, Voicu’s short fiction film The Last Trip to the Seaside / Ultimul drum spre mare, produced by Axel Film, was selected for the Cannes Critics’ Week section and won a Special Mention at the Sarajevo Film Festival.
Production Information:
Producer:
Axel Film (Romania)
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Coproducer:
Contrast Films (Bulgaria)
Credits:
Director: Adrian Voicu
Scriptwriter: Adrian Voicu
DoP: Krum Rodriguez
Editor: Ciprian Cimpoi
Sound: Vlad Voinescu, Filip Mureșan
Cast: Yann Verburgh, Nicoleta Lefter, Marius Cordoș, Rolando Matsangos, Valentin Terente, Simona Măicănescu
