The Spanish Embassy and Cervantes Institute of Bucharest invite the ones interested in the film event “Jesús del Cerro, a Filmmaker in Romania”, which will take place between February 12th and March 8th at the Cervantes Institute. The event highlights the Spanish director and producer Jesús del Cerro and will include a selection of 5 movies which combine different genres for all ages and tastes.
Jesús del Cerro represents a landmark of the film and television industry, in Romania and Spain as well. In Spain, he directed and produced some of the most successful TV series of all times, like The Cops, The Colleagues, or Pepe’s Boutique. Between 2003 and 2005, he was the director, creator and executive producer of the TV series A Step Forward, which very soon became a success in over 60 countries. It premiered in Romania in 2006.
Starting with 2007, he fully dedicated himself to the film industry, with notable accomplishments from both the critics and the audience. At the half of 2008, he came back to Bucharest starting his Romanian film producer and director career with The Countdown (2008) and “The Countdown 2”, “Ho Ho Ho” (2009) and “The Bride Was Stolen” (2012).
The action, drama and romance, as they can be seen in Hawaii, the most recent movie signed by Jesús del Cerro, will not be absent from the schedule of the film event. The projection will be followed by a Q&A section in the presence of the director, moderated by the actress Cristina Flutur, which plays the main female role in this movie (the winner of the Palme d’Or Award for Female Interpretation at Cannes Film Festival for the Alina role in the movie “Beyond the Hills” by Cristian Mungiu).
The series of projections follows up with two comedies: The Godmother, which recorded the highest winnings for a Romanian movie in 2012 and won the GOPO award for the best audience, and Carlitos y el Campo de los Sueños (Carlitos and the Chance of a Lifetime), the first directed long movie by Jesús del Cerro, which won the Best Film Award and the Public Award at the Giffoni Film Festival, one of the most important film festival for kids.
The ones who haven’t seen the movie “Far from Here” will have the opportunity to discover Jesús del Cerro as a producer and scenarist, but also to see exceptional actors like Maia Morgenstern, Maria Dinulescu and Andi Vasluianu.
The series will end on March 8th with the documentary “I am Pregnant, in Romania” which will have its preview within this event in honor of the International Women’s Day. The documentary highlights, among others, the conservative character of the Romanian society towards the women’s condition in all of its aspects. The projection will be followed by a debate accompanied by the director.
The entrance to all the projections will be free in the limit of free spots. For bookings, send an e-mail to cultbuc@cervantes.es
The schedule of projections:
Monday, February 12th, 7:00 PM – HAWAII
Monday, February 19th, 7:00 PM – THE GODMOTHER
Monday, February 26th, 7:00 PM – CARLITOS Y EL CAMPO DE LOS SUEÑOS / CARLITOS AND THE CHANCE OF A LIFETIME
Monday, March 5th, 7:00 PM – FAR FROM HERE
Thursday, March 8th, 7:00 PM – I’M PREGNANT, IN ROMANIA
Hawaii (2017, 116’) – Action / Drama/ Romance; Romanian with English subtitles
Starring: Dragos Bucur, Andi Vasluianu, Rodica Lazar, Cristina Flutur, Constantin Cojocaru, Gheorghe Ifrim
The plot takes place in Romania during communism, when becoming the possessor of a family inheritance was next to impossible. Andrei, a smart taxi driver, finds out that he inherited the equivalent of 3 million dollars from an uncle in Hawaii. The situation becomes complicated when Andrei is hit by the reality of the communism. He can’t legally leave the country in order to receive his fortune and the money can’t be sent into the country because it would automatically enter in the possession of the Romanian State.
The Godmother / Action / Comedy; Romanian/English with English/Romanian subtitles
Starring: Dragos Bucur, Stefan Iancu, Whitney Anderson, Catalina Grama
Jennifer is an American woman living in Romania, married to Radu Prodan, a well-respected Romanian financier. They have a 10 year-old son, David. One day, during a baptism where Jennifer is the godmother, the police raid the church and arrest her husband.
Because of this, Jennifer finds out that Radu’s “well-respected” business covered a money laundering scheme for a feared local mobster, Spanu. The only solution Jennifer finds to save her family is to form her own “mob family” and counter the actions of their enemy, Spanu. She will be helped by a series of unusual characters, normal people put in front of exceptional situations and nevertheless her son, David, who proves to be more than a brave boy, becoming an unexpected advisor.
Carlitos y el campo de los sueños / Carlitos and the Chance of a Lifetime(2008, 107’) – Adventure/Comedy; Spanish with Romanian subtitles
Starring: Guillermo Campra
Carlitos Bermúdez has two wishes in his life: to find a couple who will adopt him from the Spanish orphanage and to become a football player for the juniors team of Spain. With the help of some friends from the orphanage, he goes on a mission to demonstrate his football talent to the world. The biggest obstacle on his path is Holipito, the administrator of the Orphanage, who tries to stop Carlitos from achieving his goals .
Far from Here / (2017, 94’) – Drama; English with Romanian subtitles
Director: James Pillion
Starring: Jonathan Ahmadi, Maia Morgenstern, Maria Dinulescu, Andi Vasluianu
Grant (Jonathan Ahmadi) and Sofia (Maria Dinulescu) are a newly married couple wishing to form a family. The changes from Sofia’s professional life make them move from America to Bucharest, and one year later their relationship reaches a deadlock, haunted by unkept promises. Sofia is now a very determined person, and Grant tries, without succeeding, to write his novels. Grant’s family is hit by a tragedy and he has to go back to America. Sofia has a hard choice ahead: leaves together with her husband to build a family or stay with her boss (Andi Vasluianu) to develop her career.
I’m Pregnant, in Romania (2016, 78’) – Documentary; V.O Romanian get English Subtitles
The documentary is a fusion of multiple talking heads type interviews to obtain an overview of governmental politics through which the Romanian states supports or doesn’t support the women who wish to have a child. More than 40 women living in Romania or Spain are interviewed on social interest topics like the viability vs. disfunctionality of the public sanitary system, workplace discrimination or the role of the life partner in growing the children. Despite the big age gaps, education level, workplace or financial status, all women need to fight against the common denominator of the Romanian State. On the other side, out of all these facts, at least one has a major influence on the quality of the medical services: the material level.
