Founded by filmmaker Catalin Mitulescu, Strada Film has previously produced The Way I Spent The End Of The World, the first feature of Catalin Mitulescu - awarded with Best Actress Award for Dorotheea Petre in "Un Certain Regard" section at Cannes Film Festival 2006, Ryna, the first feature of Ruxandra Zenide - awarded with 16 prizes, Trafic by Catalin Mitulescu - Palme d'Or for short film in 2004 and A Good Day For A Swim by Bogdan Mustata - Golden Bear for short film in 2008.If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle/Eu cand vreau sa fluier, fluier is a heart stopping thriller focusing on a teenage prisoner who after being visited by his mother develops a crush on a sociology student and tries to escape five days before his release. The script is based on a play written by Andreea Valean and staged successfully a several years ago. Catalin Mitulescu and Florin Serban wrote the script. The shooting took place last year in Romania, where the crew transformed a farm by the Danube river into a prison. Inspired by Robert Bresson's oeuvre and his own education at Columbia University (where he studied filmmaking after graduating from the National University of Drama and Film Bucharest), Florin Serban planned from the beginning not to use professional actors. After three months of casting in Romanian prisons, he chose 14 prisoners (some of them imprisoned for murder) which he trained in a two month acting workshop. For the main parts he eventually also cast two first timers; George Pistereanu (a highschool senior) and Ada Condeescu (an acting student). Except for two professional actors, Clara Voda and Mihai Constantin, the rest of the cast is played by non-professional actors - prisoners and guards, who were heavily encouraged to improvise. Florin Serban told FNE that working with prisoners made him understand that society has rigid expectations of them. "I guess my weapon was my competence. Once they realize I know where I want to take them, they let themselves go." {mosimage}With If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle, the producers are facing a new challenge. After the awards Romanian films have received at festivals in recent years, the challenge is now to win the audience. "The Romanian market has improved a lot lately, and it's very important for us to make films not only for festivals, but also for the audience," says co-producer Daniel Mitulescu. The year 2009 was a record-breaking year in Romania, with admissions growing 43% compared to 2008. The first sign of recovery was in 2008 after 18 years of steady decline. Most of the box office - 95% , went in 2009 to the 15 multiplexes that wiped out 38 old communist era cinemas. Two more multiplexes with 15 cinemas will open in 2010. If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle is supported by the Romanian National Centre for Cinema (www.cncinema.abt.ro), the Swedish Film Institute (www.sfi.se) and Post Republic Berlin (www.post-republic.com), and has been pre-sold to the Romanian Television (www.tvr.ro). The project won The Magic Box Service Award at CineLink, during the 2008 Sarajevo IFF (www.sff.ba), and also the CineLink Work in Progress Award at Sarajevo IFF in August 2009.According to Daniel Mitulescu (who is co-producing together with his brother, Cătălin Mitulescu) the film will have its Romanian premiere right after the Berlinale. Celluloid Dreams (www.celluloid-dreams.com) is managing the international sales. Florin Serban and Strada Film are also participating in Rotterdam-Berlinale Express section of the Berlinale Co-production Market with their new feature project, the thriller El Rumano, the story of a Romanian returning from Spain with a bloody assignment.{mosimage}SPONSORED BY STRADA FILMScreening Times13th FebruaryBerlin9.00 press screening16.30 red carpet14th feb9.30 friedrichstadtpalast20.00 urania21st feb17.00 babylon (mitte)

 

Contact in BerlinPublicists: WOLF ConsultantsLaurin DietrichPhone: +49 157 74 74 97 24//188.116.56.214/This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it." rel="nofollow" data-mce-href="This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.www.wolf-con.comGordon SpraggThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.Phone: +491716466970Press Agent: Bianca Oana //188.116.56.214/This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it." rel="nofollow" data-mce-href="This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.Phone:+40733947910Romanian co-producerDaniel Mitulescu//188.116.56.214/This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.%20" rel="nofollow" data-mce-href="This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.%20">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.Production informationStrada Film41 Dr. Staicovici Street, Sector 5055556, Bucharest, RomaniaPhone/Fax: +40-21-411.80.99www.stradafilm.ro//188.116.56.214/This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it." rel="nofollow" data-mce-href="This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.Film i Väst ABBox 134461 23 TrollhättanAkerssjöv. 4Phone: +46 (0) 520- 49 09 00Fax: + 46 (0) 520- 49 09 01www.filmivast.se/sv/film-i-vast///188.116.56.214/This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it." rel="nofollow" data-mce-href="This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.The Chimney PotSturegatan 58114 36 StockholmPhone: +46 8 587 50 500Fax: +46 8 587 50 501www.thechimneypot.com//188.116.56.214/This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it." rel="nofollow" data-mce-href="This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.Celluloid Dreams2 rue Turgot75009 ParisFrancePhone: +33 1 49 70 03 70Fax: +33 1 49 70 03 71www.celluloid-dreams.com//188.116.56.214/This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it." rel="nofollow" data-mce-href="This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.CreditsDirector: Florin SerbanScript: Catalin Mitulescu Florin SerbanDOP: Marius PanduruCast: George PistereanuAda Condeescu Clara Voda Mihai ConstantinMarian Bratu