4:15 PM. The End of the World is the debut film of directors Gabi Virginia Șarga and Cătălin Rotaru, who also wrote the script, and of producers Adina Sădeanu and Alexandru Crăciun. “We meant to tell the story of an encounter within the context of a border-line situation: the imminent end of the world. The
challenge for us in this film was to show the unseen, to make it become visible,” Gabi Șarga and Cătălin Rotaru stated.
Shot over four days, on rainy weather, outside Bucharest, the film tells the story of an unusual encounter between a courier and a hitchhiker, who introduces himself as Iisus (Jesus). When the hitchhiker warns him that the end of the world is near, the courier thinks the former is crazy, having no clue that this meeting will change his life totally. The two roles are played by actors Alexandru Suciu (courier) and Elias Ferkin (Iisus).
As regards the casting, directors said that Elias Ferkin was chosen because of his “innocence and his capacity to be moved by others' suffering, a rare quality among actors.” All these were, however, enhanced by Alexandru Suciu, Ferkin's partner in the film. “Alexandru is an amazing actor. I worked with him before and I wrote the part especially for him. It was a pleasure to work with Elias and Alexandru. They understood our vision and made it their own,” the two directors said.
Elias Ferkin confessed that the most challenging element acting-wise was the ambiguity of the character, and that he was able to take it on only after rehearsals with the directors. “The character's costume […] helps me during the shoot to forget everything related to my life at home. For this character, the dark red windbreaker makes the difference. The hood made feel like I was wearing prophet's outfit,” Ferkin confessed.
To Alexandru Suciu, the hardest thing was to try and assume the problem of the character who found himself in a dire situation. “It's not too pleasant to imagine how it would be like if something like that happened to you. But when you're working on a role you believe in, you do everything to pass by any hurdles… and give your best,” Suciu said.
As for the stylistic elements, the film's director of photography,
Tudor Platon, final year MA Student at UNATC, said those are derived from the rainy atmosphere chosen together with Gabi Șarga and Cătălin Rotaru. “The cold, desaturated colours, the austere cut creates a suppressing environment leaving room for the play between the realist and mystical nature found in the text,” Platon stated.
Produced by Axis Media Production and Flama Booking, the short was screened on Wednesday, 18 May, for the press. The official screening will be held on 21 May, from 11:00 am, than again on the same day from 16:00 pm, at the Festival Palace in Cannes. In Romania, the short will be screened for the first time within the Transilvania Film Festival.
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