Final Day: Screening of "Weekend with My Mother"

The Festival is now officially over, but it ended with a bang not with a whimper! The screening of the last film, "Weekend with My Mother" (Weekend cu Mama) was completely sold out. The latest Stere Gulea feature was a story about addiction, abandoned children and complex mother-daughter relationships.

The plot followed the main character, Luiza, played by Medeea Marinescu, who is returning from Spain to reconcile with her long-lost daughter (Adela Popescu). Luiza finds that her daughter, Cristina, had become a drug addict who had abandoned her own two-year old daughter. Determined to mend her relationship, Luiza convinces Cristina to come with her to Spain and to retrieve her daughter from the foster home. However, the plan goes wrong when Cristina's boyfriend, villain Johnny (Andi Vasluianu), kidnaps the little girl. Cristina goes looking for her daughter but, in a final shocker, is found dead by her mother.

The Q&A at the end of the film was attended by the director, Stere Gulea, actor Andi Vasluianu and screenwriter Vera Ion. Many questions centred around the unexpected ending, which intrigued or shocked the audience. Mr Gulea also talked about his process of researching for the film, and the influence he had from Trainspotting. He also referred to his future projects, including a comedy about Communist nostalgia.

The Festival concluded with a wine reception offered by the Ratiu Foundation, where participants could discuss the films that were seen throughout the Festival and solidify the friendships that grew along its rich four days.

Third Day (II): The UK premiere of "Morometii"

The highlight of the third day of the Film Festival was undoubtedly the British premiere of "Morometii", the classical 1988 movie of Stere Gulea. Whether to see it again or to see it the first time, the audience gathered in large numbers in the screening room. "Morometii", as most people know, is based on the 1st book by novelist Marin Preda, and deals with the village world of the late 1930s. The protagonist, Ilie Moromete, battles with daily chores, rebellious children, a difficult household and taxes. Eventually, as his ungrateful sons flee with the family's horses and sheep, Moromete finds himself at the end of his straw. The presentation of this first UK screening was impeccable, except perhaps for the less felicitous translation, that often did not do justice to Preda's genius writing and the excellent script.

The film was followed by a short Q&A with Mr Stere Gulea, the director of the movie, and Mr. Victor Rebengiuc, the chief protagonist. They conveyed how the Communist propaganda of the so-called "archetypal Romanian peasant" distorted the film's message. The village of Ilie Moromete is now a lost world, but his struggles to cope with a difficult family and to make ends meet remain forever actual. Mr Gulea recalled how the Communists did not like the realism of the story, and the fact that Moromete was a real human being, rather than a stereotypical peasant. Mr Rebengiuc added that the Communists also resented the fact that the film (just as the book) showed peasants as better off than during their Communist period. In the 1930s, life was hard, but at least peasants felt free and were able to express what they believed; moreover, they had tracts of land that were later taken away from them by the forced collectivisation of the 1950s.

Second Day: Working Lunch with Actors and Directors

The Second Day of the Festival started with a Working Lunch hosted by the Ratiu Family Foundation at its headquarters in 18 Fitzhardinge Street.

The well-attended event featured a short Q&A with actor Victor Rebengiuc, actor and director Horatiu Malaele, director Stere Gulea, actor Andi Vasluianu and documentary director Andrei Dascalescu.

Mr Stere Gulea, director of classic film "Morometii" and new feature "Weekend with My Mother" spoke about the two generations of Romanian directors - the older one and the so-called New Wave. He talked about the challenge of his older generation, which can no longer make films as it was done twenty years ago, but cannot 'copy' the young generation of directors today. His answer to this paradox is the highly acclaimed Weekend with My Mother, which will be shown in the last day of the festival.

Mr Victor Rebengiuc entertained the eager audience with memories of the making of "Morometii", where he played the title role. He remembered the risk director Gulea took by casting him as a peasant, since he was, as he put it, a city "asphalt boy". The shooting of the film lasted for three months and a half, during which the actors became a part of the village community. Today, in the village the film was shot a street has been renamed "Morometii".

Mr Vasluianu talked about the two films he is acting in today, "The Other Irene" and "Exchange". He described the differences between the two, as the first is the drama of a couple falling out, while the other is about getting by and making money fast.

Mr Dascalescu discussed his experience about shooting a documentary. He confessed that he embarked on making the film because of the characters, and that the film grew out naturally of the fascinating real life behaviour of the two "actors" (which are in fact Dascalescu's grandparents). He made the film on his own money and only later on found some co-financing from a Spanish producer that was fascinating with the piece.

Mr Horatiu Malaele briefly referred to his future project, a film called "Happy Funeral" for which he has the script ready. Unfortunately, financing is missing at this time. He also talked about the big difference between acting and directing, with the latter involving responsibility towards tens of people.

The fascinating discussion concluded with a brief analysis of the current financing issues of Romanian cinema and Romanian directors. Mr Gulea explained that the only real source of financing now is the National Cinematographic Centre (CNC), which makes awards. There may be some opportunities of EU financing in the future, some participants opined, but this is not a reality right now.