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PRODUCTION Belgium / France / Romania

Marta Bergman shoots Seule à mon mariage

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- The Belgian documentary maker is currently wrapping up filming on her first fictional feature

Marta Bergman shoots Seule à mon mariage
Alina Șerban in Seule à mon mariage

A former student at the INSAS, Marta Bergman is known for her documentary work, more specifically with and around Rom communities. We owe it to her for films such as Clejani, Heureux Séjour, and Un jour mon prince viendra, which follows the quest of three young Romanian girls for a Western man – and a better life. Herein lie the seedlings for fictional piece Seule à mon mariage [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marta Bergman
film profile
]
.

Insolent, spontaneous, funny. Pamela, a young Roma, is different from the other women in her community. A single mother, she lives with her grandmother and her little girl in a small hut where the three of them share a bed. How can she reconcile the needs of her two-year-old daughter and her dream of freedom? Pamela embarks on a journey into the unknown, breaking away from the traditions that suffocate her. “Lapin, pizza, amour.” All she has are three words in French, and the hope that marriage will change her and her daughter’s destiny.

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For the key role of Pamela, Marta Bergman chose Alina Șerban, a young Romanian actress who rose to prominence in Bucharest with a one woman show that she wrote and performed all over Europe. For a few years now she’s been living in London, where she has appeared in several plays and television series. 

Starring opposite her is Flemish actor Tom Vermeir, who recently starred in Belgica [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Artemio Benki, Sylvie Leray
interview: Felix Van Groeningen
film profile
]
, in the role of Bruno, the Belgian man. Alongside them is a cast of Romanian actors (Viorica TudorMarian Șamu), and a solid Belgian cast, featuring the likes of Jonas Bloquet (nominated for the César for Most Promising Actor for his performance in Elle [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
 by Paul Verhoeven), Johan Leysen (Tonic Immobility [+see also:
trailer
interview: Nathalie Teirlinck
film profile
]
, Souvenir [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, The Brand New Testament [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jaco van Dormael
film profile
]
, The Missing), and Achille Ridolfi (In the Name of the Son [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, All Yours [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
interview: David Lambert
film profile
]
, Trepalium). The cast also includes French actress Marie Denarnaud (La Taularde [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, Breathe [+see also:
trailer
interview: Lou de Laâge
film profile
]
, Les Liens du Sang).

Filming, which started on 23 January 2017, has been taking place in Romania and Belgium, where it will wrap on 10 March. Seule à mon mariage is being produced by Frakas Production, which is currently preparing to start filming for Troisièmes Noces [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: David Lambert
film profile
]
, the third feature film by David Lambert, starring Bouli LannersRachel Mwanza and Virginie Hocq. Frakas also recently co-produced Raw [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Julia Ducournau
film profile
]
Dark Inclusion [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arthur Harari
film profile
]
, Heal the Living [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Katell Quillévéré
film profile
]
and Daguerrotype [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
.

The film has received support from the Wallonia-Brussels FederationWallimageRTBFscreen.brussels, Proximus and Casa Kafka, as well as writing support from the CNC. The film is an (almost) 100% Belgian production in terms of its funding. Zélila Films and Avenue B Productions are serving as associate producers in France, and Hi Film is the line producer in Romania. 

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(Translated from French)

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