Soldiers. Story from Ferentari

  • 119'
  • Romania
  • 2017

Ferentari is a run-down neighbourhood in Bucharest largely inhabited by Roma. "The closest to a ghetto you can get in contemporary Romania", according to director Ivana Mladenovic. This is where she sets her fiction feature debut, a modern Romeo and Juliet – or rather Romeo and Julio. Ferentari is not somewhere you’d expect to find an introverted academic like 40-year-old Adi. The anthropologist comes to the area soon after being dumped to study the Roma pop music, manele. Adi needs help navigating this shady, often mob-related, world and finds this in kind-hearted criminal Alberto.

As do many contemporary Romanian filmmakers, this originally Serb director plays an intriguing game with fact and fiction in her film, which is populated by amateur actors from Ferentari. Soldiers. Story from Ferentari is based on the eponymous, semi-autobiographical book by Adrian Schiop, who also plays the lead in this loose adaptation.

Director
Ivana Mladenovic
Countries of production
Romania, Serbia, Belgium
Year
2017
Festival Edition
IFFR 2018
Length
119'
Medium
DCP
Original title
Soldatii. Poveste din Ferentari
Language
Romanian
Producers
Ada Solomon, Jelena Mitrovic, Cassandre Warnauts, Jean-Yves Roubin
Production Companies
Hi Film Productions, Film House Bas Celik, FraKas Productions
Sales
Beta Cinema
Screenplay
Adrian Schiop, Ivana Mladenovic
Cinematography
Luchian Ciobanu
Editor
Cătălin Cristuțiu
Production Design
Adrian Cristea
Sound Design
Aurelien Lebourg, Yves Bemelmans
Cast
Adrian Schiop, Vasile Pavel–Digudai, Ștefan Iancu, Nicolae Marin–Spaniolul, Hashimoto Kana, Dan Bursuc, Cezar Grumăzescu
Director
Ivana Mladenovic
Countries of production
Romania, Serbia, Belgium
Year
2017
Festival Edition
IFFR 2018
Length
119'
Medium
DCP
Original title
Soldatii. Poveste din Ferentari
Language
Romanian
Producers
Ada Solomon, Jelena Mitrovic, Cassandre Warnauts, Jean-Yves Roubin
Production Companies
Hi Film Productions, Film House Bas Celik, FraKas Productions
Sales
Beta Cinema
Screenplay
Adrian Schiop, Ivana Mladenovic
Cinematography
Luchian Ciobanu
Editor
Cătălin Cristuțiu
Production Design
Adrian Cristea
Sound Design
Aurelien Lebourg, Yves Bemelmans
Cast
Adrian Schiop, Vasile Pavel–Digudai, Ștefan Iancu, Nicolae Marin–Spaniolul, Hashimoto Kana, Dan Bursuc, Cezar Grumăzescu

Programme IFFR 2018

Bright Future

A selection of discoveries for the future. Emerging talent with original subject matter and an individual style. Includes the Bright Future Competition for first feature films.

Read more about this programme