Seven years after releasing Heidi, which earned young actress Cătălina Mihai the Best New Hope Award at the 2020 Gopos, Romanian director Cătălin Mitulescu (By the Rails, Loverboy, How I Celebrated the End of the World) has completed post-production on his latest feature, Indian Summer. The film is being produced by Mitulescu and Ruxandra Slotea through Strada Film Internaţional, with Asociaţia Imago serving as the co-production company.

Penned by Mitulescu together with Mihai Radu, the story unfolds at a single intersection in Bucharest’s Old Town in autumn, between a Saturday morning and the following day. The characters include Marin, an elderly man returning from France to reunite with his estranged wife, a taxi driver, a barista, two young women discovered unconscious in an Airbnb and Dia, a former gymnast who is now a young mother. Their lives briefly intersect as they attempt to experience a real connection and get through another day.

The film’s budget amounts to €1.3 million, €550,000 of which was granted by the Romanian National Film Center. Principal photography took place over 20 days in August and September 2025. Dan Condurache (Why Me?, Silent Wedding), Victoria Cociaș (Freedom, Lebensdorf, Toni Erdmann), Ada Condeescu (By the Rails, Loverboy, If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle) and Alexandru Papadopol (Arrest, Two Lottery Tickets, Stuff and Dough) topline the cast, while the cinematography was handled by Luchian Ciobanu.

Speaking to Cineuropa about the project, the director explains that the film was inspired by everyday observations: “It all started in a café where I used to drink my morning coffee, and I had 15-20 minutes to watch people. I saw mere fragments of their lives, without knowing their whole story, and that was precisely what drew me in: each seemed to briefly enter someone else’s life, then simply move on. That became the foundation of the ensemble.

“In 15-20 minutes, you cannot learn a person’s life story, but you can catch a gesture, a glance or maybe a conversation, and you have this feeling that there is so much more going on there,” the director further explains in relation to his film’s premise. Producer Ruxandra Slotea says, “The image of the city and the art direction were essential elements for Indian Summer.” Her team chose “to integrate discreetly into the city. Most of the time, we filmed with real people and real traffic, without interrupting the natural rhythm of Bucharest.”

Strada Film Internaţional will release Indian Summer domestically next year, while Paris-based MPM Premium is handling the international sales.