31/07/2025 - The film follows several characters whose lives delve into chaos following a mysterious death

Romanian director Teodor Mirea has wrapped post-production for his first feature, F.E.Z.Z., which is an acronym for “futila existenţă de zi cu zi”, meaning “futile daily existence”. The film is produced by Liviu Mărghidan through Scharf Film Production and by Mirea through Natura Party.

The screenplay, written by the director, follows three friends whose lives turn into chaos after a tragic event. The protagonists will be caught in a whirlwind of bizarre events and coincidences that invite the terror of realising everything is completely out of their control. The main characters are played by Vlad Brumaru, Alexandru Nagy, Iulian Burciu and Radu Zeţu.

The film’s budget amounts to about €600,000, with approximately €230,000 coming from the Romanian National Film Center. F.E.Z.Z. was shot over 20 days in Bucharest in November 2023.

Liviu Mărghidan, who is also the film’s DoP, told Cineuropa that the film’s appeal comes from the “honest dynamic between characters, and a certain kind of humour created not by written jokes, but from absurd, and yet perfectly recognisable interactions. F.E.Z.Z. boasts a controlled chaos that captures the urban life of a generation caught between small failures and absurdly big dreams. I expect the audience to respond well to the dry humour and unpredictable events, but also to the authenticity of these ‘losers’.”

As for Teodor Mirea, he described his film as “a fight for freedom, essentially. The characters make the most absurd and ultimately irrational decisions to avoid losing their freedom, even if the danger of this loss is not exactly real, but rather only perceived.” The director also said that there is a dose of social commentary in his film, as “a corrupt and lethargic system is constantly gripping the characters. And yet, this system is made of people and my characters take advantage of its shortcomings and the indifference and apathy of those around them in order to avoid extreme situations. The story is rather a critique of this tacit complicity, where the lethargy of the authorities leaves room for injustice and even murder,” the director explained, adding that the film’s title suggests the “resigned desperation” of the protagonists.

F.E.Z.Z. will be domestically released next winter.