Single mother and nurse Alina is confronted with an ethical problem when she tries to find a huge sum of money to prevent her 22-year old son Radu from going to jail. The other two main characters of the film are Pavel, the owner of a real estate agency and an old flame of Alina, and Mihaela, the daughter of a rich art collector who is a patient of Alina.
„Comatogen reveals its characters without discretion, presenting them in multiple perspectives. Initially the audience will see them just like they wish to be seen, but gradually their true moral identities will come up. Little lies will soon be replaced by horrible secrets and petty interests. In a world where money has a supreme value, people are capable of anything”, Igor Cobileanski told FNE. Cobileanski wrote the script together with Alin Boeru.
The main cast consists of Daniela Nane, Ada Lupu, Theodor Șoptelea and Andrei Aradits, joined by Gheorghe Visu and Vlad Brumaru.
The film is produced by Cristian Gugu through Romania’s Quantum Media Creative and coproduced by Virgiliu Mărgineanu through OWH Studio from the Republic of Moldova in association with Diana Păroiu of Romania’s Visual Walkabout.
The Romanian Film Centre (CNC) and the Moldovan National Film Center are supporting the project.
The script went through multiple drafts, especially after taking part in Script Pool Tallinn in 2017.
Cristian Gugu, who also holds DoP credits, shot the film in Bucharest in 22 shooting days from March to April 2023.
“One of the main reasons for my involvement as a producer of the film lies in my friendship with Igor, which spans over 30 years, since we first began dreaming about cinema. However, this is our first feature film together. My credit as cinematographer adds to this complex equation as I have always tried to balance what I want to work on as DoP and what I want to produce”, Cristian Gugu told FNE.
The film is estimated to be finished and to premiere in the spring-summer of 2024. Sales and distribution are pending.
Born in 1974, Igor Cobileanski studied Film direction in Bucharest and made several successful short films before his debut feature The Unsaved / La limita de jos a cerului, co-written with Corneliu Porumboiu and produced by Saga Film, which received the FIPRESCI Award at FilmFestival Cottbus and Gopo Awards for Best Romanian Film Debut and Best Cinematography in 2014. His sophomore feature, the Romanian/Lithuanian comedy Eastern Business / Afacerea Est (Alien Film, Just a Moment) won Best Script and Best Actor at the Tallinn Black Nights FF in 2016. He also worked on the HBO series Shadows / Umbre (2014-2016) and Hackerville (2018), which received several Grimme Awards, including for direction.
Production Information:
Producer:
Quantum Media Creative (Romania)
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Coproducer:
OWH Studio (Republic of Moldova)
In association with Visual Walkabout
Credits:
Director: Igor Cobileanski
Screenwriters: Igor Cobileanski, Alin Boeru
DoP: Cristian Gugu
Editors: Ligia Popescu, Dana Bunescu
Set designer: Raluca Ioanovici
Costume designer: Magda Mohamed
Make-up artist: Simina Brădeanu
Cast: Daniela Nane, Ada Lupu, Theodor Șoptelea, Andrei Aradits, Gheorghe Visu, Vlad Brumaru
