Palme d’Or Winner Cristian Mungiu Allies With Poland’s Kijora Films on ‘Tales of the Golden Age – The Warsaw Pact’ and ‘The Incident’ (EXCLUSIVE)
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Palme d’Or winner Cristian Mungiu and his Bucharest-based company Mobra Films will join forces with Poland’s Kijora Films on “Tales of the Golden Age – The Warsaw Pact,” a follow up to his 2009 sketch comedy referencing urban legends from the Ceausescu regime.
Expanding to accommodate stories from different ex-communist Eastern European countries, including Poland, it will be written by Mungiu and directed by Ioana Uricaru. France’s Les Films du Worso is also on board.
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“Perhaps the most important function of comedy is to help us confront negative emotions and terrible events, and give us a way to talk about them that makes them less frightening. The most effective comedies are set in tragic situations,” Mungiu and Uricaru said in a statement.
“The stories presented in the script take place at a dark moment in history and talk about very grim issues in that comical and absurd way – one that Romanians and other Eastern Europeans have, over the years, perfected as their way of survival,” they added, promising to recreate “the unique, unmistakable atmosphere of the 1980s, which some viewers will recognize with nostalgia and others, younger ones, with curiosity.”
The “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” and “R.M.N” director will continue his collaboration with Kijora also on Tomasz Wolski’s “The Incident.” It will mark Wolski’s first foray into fiction after Visions du Réel winner “1970” or Berlinale premiere “In Ukraine.”
“There is a certain freshness and boldness that comes from filmmakers who are starting out. We encourage them to think about the audience and to choose ideas that have the potential to interest as many spectators as possible,” Mungiu told Variety.
Lensed by Tudor Vladimir Panduru – Mungiu’s regular cinematographer – “The Incident,” which will be shot in Spring 2025, is co-produced by Vernes (Czech Republic).
“We appreciate creativeness, singularity and coherence with one’s chosen genre or style. The realism of the Romanian New Wave is something that provides us with a common ground [with Wolski]. It also matters that Tudor, a close collaborator we appreciate, will shoot the film,” added Mungiu.
Mobra Films is already busy developing other international co-productions, from Ana-Felicia Scutelnicu’s “Transit” – made with Weydemann Bros. (Germany) and Moldova’s Youbesc – to upcoming miniseries “Escaping Heaven”.
Wolski observed: “I’ve been thinking about telling a fictional story since 2012. That’s when I first came to the conclusion that I needed to grow and explore new challenges. I also started to feel the limitations of documentary filmmaking.”
“I want to talk about what hurts us and what is hidden. The things I couldn’t, or maybe didn’t want to capture with a documentary camera out of respect for my protagonists.”
In the film, also written by Wolski, three separate stories will come together thanks to one event: the titular incident.
“I tell the story through three characters. A mother, who learns that her teenage daughter hit a dog while riding a scooter. A police officer – and the animal’s owner – who is summoned to the scene. In the last one, we discover that even earlier, the dog was actually hit by a teenager whose father was teaching her to drive.”
They won’t meet each other in the film, however.
“They lead separate lives, right next to each other. The film will address issues of responsibility, parenthood and guilt,” he explained.
“Together with Tudor, we are searching for its visual language. We both like telling stories through long takes. It reminds me of documentaries and renders this artificial film universe more real and natural.”
“Unlike documentaries, fiction feature films offer the possibility of full creation. But we still intend to combine both at Kijora Films, all the while staying close to auteur cinema,” noted producer Anna Gawlita.
The company is also at work on “La Manche” by Damian Kocur, his follow-up to award-winning “Bread and Salt.”
“I’m passionate about finding a balance, but not between documentary and fiction: between the artistic vision of the filmmakers we are working with and the expectations of the viewers,” she added.
“I would like our films not only to move and inspire, but also be accessible to a reasonably wide audience without having to compromise.”
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