06-09-2021

PRODUCTION: Sebastian Mihăilescu Preps Romanian/Polish/German Coproduction Double Happiness

By

    BUCHAREST: Romanian writer/director Sebastian Mihăilescu is preparing to start shooting his debut feature Double Happiness on 4 October 2021. Diana Păroiu and Ada Solomon are producing through Romania’s microfilm in coproduction with Ewa Puszczyńska through Poland’s Extreme Emotions and Nina Frese through Germany’s Pandora Film.

    HiFilm Productions, another production outlet of Ada Solomon, is also coproducing.

    Defined as a drama/mystery/comedy, the film written by Mihăilescu together with Andrei Epure follows Camil, a troubled 39-years-old man who wakes up one night without his penis. The nightmare continues when his partner Andreea also disappears after meeting a former lover. He sets out looking for her and, wearing women’s clothes, reaches a secret community dedicated to fertility, where no men are allowed. There he finds something far more disturbing.

    “This film is a surrealist drama, an incisive exploration of the masculine outlook on life and of the fight against capitulating before overwhelming experiences, against passiveness, against the fear of losing control and balance. Can men make the world a better place? Can men be vulnerable, weak, intuitive, insecure, flexible?”, the director said in a statement.

    The main cast includes IstvánTéglás, Mălina Manovici and Denisa Nicolae.

    The project is being made in association with: Visual Walkabout, nomada.solo, Aeroplan Studios and XANF, with the support of the Romanian Film Centre, the Polish Film Institute, Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, and the Creative Europe MEDIA Programme of the European Union.

    The financial partners include: Cinema City Romania, Provident Financial Romania, Hochland Romania, Help Net and Bilka Steel.

    The project has participated in: EAVE Ties That Bind, Torino Film Lab Extended and When East Meets West Co-production Forum.

    The budget is 1 m EUR, Diana Păroiu told FNE.

    The film will be shot entirely in Romania - Bucharest and Siriu (Buzău County) for 18 days, from 4 October to 1 November 2021. The estimated final copy and release are due for the spring of 2022

    Sebastian Mihăilescu has a Master’s Degree in Film Directing from the National University of Theatre and Film Bucharest. He has directed three short fiction films, including Old Luxurious Flat Located in an Ultracentral, Desirable Neighborhood, which premiered in the Locarno IFF 2016 - Pardi di Domani Competition and was screened at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Film Lincoln Center in New York as part of the New Directors | New Films Festival.

    Production Information:

    Producer:
    Director Sebastian MihailescumicroFILM (Romania)
    This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

    Coproducers:
    Extreme Emotions (Poland)
    Pandora Film (Germany)
    HiFilm Productions (Romania)

    Credits:
    Director: Sebastian Mihăilescu
    Scriptwriters: Andrei Epure, Sebastian Mihăilescu
    DOP: Barbu Bălășoiu
    Editor: Cătălin Cristuțiu
    Sound designer: Alexandru Dumitru
    Production designer: Anca Lazăr
    Cast: István Téglás, Mălina Manovici, Denisa Nicolae