Romanian director Andrei Epure makes his directorial debut with Don’t Let Me Die [+lee también:
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ficha de la película], which will be shown in the Filmmakers of the Present competition of the 78th Locarno Film Festival (6-16 August). This Romanian-Bulgarian-French co-production has just released a first trailer which can be seen below.

The screenplay, written by Ana Gheorghe (who is also the film’s producer through Saga Film) and Epure, follows a young woman (Cosmina Stratan) who wanders through a seaside town preparing the funeral of her mysterious neighbour, Isabela (Elina Löwensohn).

Gheorghe tells Cineuropa that the film stems from probably the most vivid childhood memory of hers: “One winter at the seaside, a lonely and misunderstood neighbour died right in front of my window. My mother was the one who found her and called the ambulance. That day, all of us realised we didn’t even know her real name, we had used only nicknames [when we talked about her]. It was the first dead person I ever saw, and that image haunted me for years. I told Andrei about this memory, and it stayed with him too. Together, we gave her a name, Isabela, and wrote her story. We were also impressed by the story of a former Romanian journalist who was found dead in her apartment two weeks after she passed. Her dogs were practically howling from hunger. She died in total anonymity and indifference. This is a story that made it into the news programs, but there are so many others that don’t,” Gheorghe explains, as scenes inspired by dogs surviving their owner are also featured in her film.

“Don’t Let Me Die is about a woman whose death makes her more noticeable to her neighbours than her life ever did. This film reflects on our relationship with death, blending social commentary with surrealism. It speaks to collective passiveness and to our fear of the unknown. At its core, the film is a cry against being forgotten,” the writer-producer continues.

As for the director, he previously said his main purpose was to “make a movie about the relationship we have with death, in all its bureaucratic, terrifying and sometimes comical aspects. I wanted it to be a kind of obituary in images, incomplete, but as palpable as possible, archiving the passage through life of someone who has left few traces behind.”

Don’t Let Me Die is being handled internationally by Lights On (Italy). Independenţa Film will release the film domestically later this year.

Check out the trailer below: