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CANNES 2016 Romania

Romania has an impressive year at Cannes

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- Cristian Mungiu, Cristi Puiu and newcomer Bogdan Mirică have the chance to win awards on the Croisette

Romania has an impressive year at Cannes
Graduation by Cristian Mungiu

For a country that only makes 20 films every year, the Romanian film industry has an impressive level of influence at Cannes: this year, there are no fewer than three features from the country selected, two of them in the main competition. 

All eyes will be on Cristian Mungiu, former Palme d’Or and Best Screenplay Award winner, and his Graduation [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Cristian Mungiu
interview: Cristian Mungiu
film profile
]
, the story of a father (Adrian Titieni), Romeo, and his daughter (Maria Drăguş), Eliza. Romeo has to face the challenges of getting old and those posed by his relationship with Eliza, in a “universal study about the imprecision of parenthood, the relativity of truth and the ambiguity of compromise”, as world sales company Wild Bunch presents the film. Written by Mungiu and shot by Tudor Panduru, the movie was produced by Mobra Films (Romania), Why Not Productions and Wild Bunch (France), as well as Les Films du Fleuve (Belgium). The film will be released domestically on 20 May.

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After winning the Un Certain Regard Award with his famed The Death of Mr Lăzărescu [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, Cristi Puiu is making his official competition debut with Sieranevada [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Cristi Puiu
film profile
]
. An almost three-hour-long feature, Sieranevada centres on Larry (Mimi Brănescu), a neurologist who arrives with his wife at the wake of his late father. The arrival of an unexpected guest will have profound effects on those attending the commemoration. Written by Puiu and shot by Barbu Bălăşoiu, the film was produced by Mandragora (Romania) and Alcatraz Film (France).  

Bogdan Mirică’s Dogs [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bogdan Mirica
film profile
]
will be competing in the Un Certain Regard sidebar. A thriller set on the Romanian border with Ukraine, the film stars Dragoş Bucur as Roman, a young man coming from Bucharest to sell the land inherited from his late grandfather. When Roman realises that the land had been used by the local crime lords for their dangerous endeavours, he has to make a costly decision. Written by Mirică and shot by Andrei Butică, Dogs was produced by 42 Km Film (Romania), EZ Films (France) and Argo Film (Bulgaria).

Lastly, the short film 4:15 P.M. The End of the World by Cătălin Rotaru and Gabi Virginia Şarga was selected in the short-film competition, while Alexandru Badea's All Rivers Run to the Sea will be shown in the Cinéfondation selection.

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