The Romanian Cultural Institute announced that Romania will have a record participation at this year’s edition of the Berlin International Film Festival. The 68th edition of the Berlinale 2018, which will be held in Germany, will be organized between February 15 and 25. At the Generation Kplus section, which refers to features and short films for children and youngsters, two Romanian movies that were made under the project Audiovisual Creation International Residence, held in the Slon village, Cerasu commune, Prahova County, have been selected.
At the 68th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival, Romanian productions have been selected at almost all sections. In the last years, the Romanian film had a honorable place at one of the most important film festivals in the world, the Romanian Cultural Institute in Berlin constantly supporting the presence of numerous film teams at the Berlinale. Thus, Romania will participate in the Competition – the main section of the festival – with the feature “Nu ma atinge-ma/Touch me not”, the debut movie of the director Adina Pintilie.
The movie is a personal exploration that questions our preconceived ideas about intimacy as a fundamental aspect of the human existence. 24 movies will be screened at this section; 19 of them will compete for the Goldean Bear and Silver Bears, the other five being screened outside the competition. Another debut in feature, the movie “Lemonade/Luna de miere” directed by Ioana Uricaru, has been selected at the Panorama section. The movie tells the story of Mara, a single mother who is in the US for a temporary job as a nurse, who marries an American. When she starts to make the steps in order to get the residence permit, Mara realizes that real America doesn’t look like the one in her dreams. In the Panorama section, 47 movies have been selected from 40 countries, including UK, France, India, Spain, Switzerland, Brazil and Italy. Director Corneliu Porumboiu’s documentary “Fotbal infinit/Infinite Football” has been selected among the 44 movies in the Forum section. It analyzes Romania’s obsession for this sport, focusing on a representative of a local authority who is determined to improve the Romanian football. Also, actresses Cosmina Stratan and Dana Marineci will participate at the Generation 14plus section with the feature of director Nanouk Leopold, “Cobain”. The movie is a Netherladns-Belgium-Germany co-production. At the same section, another feature, “Fortuna”, will be presented; it is a Switzerland-Belgium co-production, with two Romania actresses playing in it.
At the Generation Kplus section, which includes features and short films for children and youngsters, the movies “De Natura” (directed by Lucile Hadzihalilovic) and “Trois reves de jeneusse” (directed by Valerie Mrejen and Bertrand Schefer) have been selected. The two short films have been made under the project called Audiovisual Creation International Residence which took place in the Slon village, Cerasu commune, Prahova County. The above mentioned cultural project was initiated by the META Cultural Foundation, via META Cinema, in 2015, with the support of the National Cultural Fund Administration, of the Romanian Cultural Institute, of the International Organization of Francophonie, Digital Bolex and Papillon Film. The project aimed to join Romanian and foreign filmmakers in the Slon village from Prahova.
Everything started from a dwelling sculpture created by the visual artist Romelo Pervolovici, which director Eva Pervolovici turned into a cinema creation space. The contemporary character of the architecture has contrasted with the picturesque rural environment of Slon, which gave the idea to invite international filmmakers to make audiovisual creations in this space which they could discover and revalue through an alternative approach. From fiction and experimental short films to creation and performance documentary, the movies refect individual artistic differences, as well as the unity of the décor.
Slon is a village in the Cerasu commune, Prahova County. It is a place at the foot of the mountains surrounded by ridges and mountain peaks, near which two stone fortresses (9th-10th century) belonging to the Romanian population were discovered.
