After the standing ovations and the eulogistic reviews from Cannes, the director was invited, together with his crew, to the special screening of
Sieranevada at the Cluj festival.
After the screening,
Cristi Puiu, the producer
Anca Puiu, the actors and the technical crew came on stage and answered the questions from the audience. The following day, Cristi Puiu was invited at the TIFF Lounge, at the meeting with the press and with the audience. He talked about
the reaction of the public from Cannes, and also from Cluj, about
how moved he feels when watching the film, remembering the moments from the set. For him, the unpremeditated things that happen during the shooting, represent the accents that add value to the entire story. For instance, while shooting a scene in the kitchen there are a few birds that come to the window and then fly away exactly when the actor
Mimi Brănescu turns around. Even if more takes were shot of that scene, in the end, the one which was kept was that with the birds. The same thing happened with
a scene when the sun hid behind the clouds.
On the occasion of the research of the traditions connected to the memorial service that he made for
Sieranevada, the director discovered amazing things, such as
the story of the suit of clothes for the deceased, that the actress Simona Ghiță (who is from Oltenia) brought to the film.
The apartment they shot the film in also has a strange story; it was chosen together with
Oana Giurgiu, the executive producer.
Asked about the way
the project was financed, Cristi Puiu spoke about the importance of this issue and also about his not being willing to make any artistic, creative compromise for the money. He gave a personal example regarding the idea of success and money, sharing from his experience when he was younger and when he took part in an art exhibition in the `90s. Among the people who supported him for each of his projects,
Lucian Pintilie is always an important presence and Anca Puiu brought the co-producers.
The director mentioned
the memorable moments from his films, the ones that stand through the years, talking about the miracle that gets created on set. Asked about the
film title, Cristi Puiu spoke about the labels we are used to put, in order to create the impression we know what it is about. Changing the name from the title wants to indicate the idea that actually we don`t know so many things and that there is something else beyond the story that is told, that
the perception of the characters is altered and that sideslips may appear in any account.
He got
the idea for the film after the memorial service after his father`s death, when he had an argument about communism with aunt Evelina.
”Each film is a nightmare to me”, the director confesses, thinking about the stressful times he goes through when preparing each new project.
Asked
about the New Romanian Wave, the filmmaker asserts that everything started with Lucian Pintilie`s
Reconstruction. He named five Romanian films that influenced him:
Reconstruction,
Sequences,
A Girl`s Tears,
The Cruise and
The Moromete Family.
Cristi Puiu spoke also about
the relationship he has with the director of photography, in general and especially with Barbu Bălășoiu. A film is also a document about the actors, so it is important how you put the camera on them. Cristi Puiu believes that
”when you look for something in one direction, you almost bestir the destiny” and his arguments are all the stories connected to the crew of
Sieranevada.
As for the New Romanian Wave, he believes it`s better for the specialists to tell their opinion, because they are the ones entitled to make argument analyses on filmmakers and films.
At the Closing Gala of the Transilvania International Film Festival,
Cristi Puiu received the TIFF 15 Trophy from the organizers,
Tudor Giurgiu, the Festival Director and
Mihai Chirilov, the ArtisticDirector.
Starting with the 9th of September
Sieranevada will be in the Romanian cinemas.
Cinematography: Valeriu Ciubotaru
