email print share on Facebook share on Twitter share on LinkedIn share on reddit pin on Pinterest

PRODUCTION / FUNDING Romania / Bulgaria / Serbia

Mihai Sofronea in post-production with his first feature, The Windseeker

by 

- The drama centres on a man who finds out he has only months to live

Mihai Sofronea in post-production with his first feature, The Windseeker
Dan Bordeianu in The Windseeker

Romanian director Mihai Sofronea is currently in post-production with his first feature, The Windseeker. A Libra Film Productions project produced by Tudor Giurgiu and Bogdan Crăciun, the film is being co-produced by Chouchkov Brothers (Bulgaria), represented by Boris Chouchkov, and Living Pictures (Serbia), represented by Stefan Orlandic. Post-production is expected to wrap in the spring.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

Written by Sofronea, the screenplay centres on Radu (Dan Bordeianu), a man fighting depression. A promising job interview seems to augur a better future for him, but the medical tests required by the new company come with a terrible diagnosis. With only a few months to live, Radu seeks solace in the Romanian seaside, where an old man (Adrian Titieni) takes him in. A love story with one of the man’s nieces (Olimpia Melinte) may bring a new ray of hope for Radu, but can he ultimately cheat death?

Shooting started in Bucharest in April last year, moving to the Romanian and Bulgarian seaside in June and September. The film’s DoP is Toni Cârţu.

Sofronea tells Cineuropa, “The departure point of the script is highly personal: an interrogation of the thin line that separates life from death, being from non-being. Death is a certainty, but one for which we are never prepared. When faced with a sadistic verdict (“you have only three months left to live”), each of our reactions remains unknown, regardless of our age or social standing.”

But the film’s main purpose is to explore the concept of a meaningful life. “Beyond this interrogation about death lies, in fact, an interrogation about life. How do we live, what kinds of values do we adopt, and how do we turn each day into a brief life of its own? Perhaps the idea that we will die at some point is more bearable than becoming aware of the fact that the life we have lived until now has been pointless,” the director continues.

The Windseeker is expected to be released domestically in 2021, hopefully after a successful festival run.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.

Privacy Policy