The story, inspired by a real event, focuses on a religious Filipino sailor who is working on a transatlantic ship, where he meets a young Romanian stowaway. Convinced by a Bible that this emigrant has, the sailor starts playing a dangerous game, involving his crew, his faith in God, and an innocent man’s life.
The main characters are played by the Philippino actors Soliman Cruz, Bart Guingona and Noel Sto. Domingo (who all previously worked with Lav Diaz) and the German-Romanian Niko Becker. The cast includes actors from the Phippines, France, Romania and Bulgaria.
To the North / Spre Nord (working title) is produced by Radu Stancu through Romania’s deFilm in coproduction with Cyriac Auriol through France’s Remora Films, Konstantinos Vassilaros and Orfeas Perezis through Greek Studio Bauhaus, Poli Angelova and Nikolay Todorov through Bulgaria’s Screening Emotions, and Mikulas Novotny through Czech Background Films. Ioana Lascar is delegate producer and Ramona Grama is executive producer.
The budget is 1.9 m EUR, of which 90% (1.75 m EUR) is covered, Romanian producer Radu Stancu told FNE.
The film is supported by the Romanian Film Centre (CNC), the Czech Film Fund, the Bulgarian Film Center, ARTE Cofinova, the Greek Film Center, ERT Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation, the Creative Europe – MEDIA Programme and Angoa.
The project has been developed at: EAVE Producer’s Workshop, EAVE Ties that Bind, ApostLab, Sofia Meetings, New Horizons Studio +, Transilvania Pitch Stop and Villa Kult Residency, supported by Renate Roginas.
There are 29 shooting days set for 3 April - 20 May 2021. The shooting takes place in Romania and Greece, while the postproduction will be made in Romania, the Czech Republic and France. Nicolas Becker, who previously worked for Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity and Darius Marder’s Sound of Metal is the sound designer, while Cyril Holtz, whose credits include Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles’s Bacurau, and Jacques Audiard’s The Sisters Brothers is the re-recording mixer.
The premiere is set for 2022.
Production Information:
Producer:
De Film (Romania)
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Coproducers:
Remora Films (France)
Studio Bauhaus (Greece)
Screening Emotions (Bulgaria)
Background Films (Czech Republic)
Credits:
Director: Mihai Mincan
Scriptwriter: Mihai Mincan
DoP: George Chiper Lillemark
Editor: Dragos Apetri
Production designer: Iulia Fulicea
Costumes designer: Iulia Fulicea
Original music: Alessandro Cortini
Sound designer: Nicolas Becker
Re-recording mixer: Cyril Holtz
Cast: Soliman Cruz, Niko Becker, Bart Guingona, Noel Sto. Domingo
