04-08-2009

Production: Dan Chişu starts shooting The Bear

By Iulia Blaga

    Writer/director Dan Chişu's film The Bear, winner of the Connecting Cottbus "Best Pitch Award," began filming August 3.

    The film is set in Romania, 1990. The new director of Bucharest State Circus plans to sell the only bear, a dying animal, to a German hunter, hoping to solve the financial problems of the institution. His disappointed collegues follow him up to the mountains in this bittersweet road-movie.

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    The film is produced by Tudor Giurgiu for Libra Film (www.librafilm.net). It received €268,824 grant from National Centre for Cinema (www.cncinema.abt.ro) in 2008 and is part of €136,200 MEDIA slate development funding of 5 films produced by Libra Film. Its estimated budget is €550,000.

    The shooting will wrap in 24 days, taking place around Bucharest and in Buzău county. Due to financial demands, the production is re-creating the former State Circus near the Castel Film Studios, outside of Bucharest.

    The DOP is Vivi Drăgan Vasile (Moromeţii, Occident), and the cast includes Mihai Constantin, Magda Catone, Claudiu Bleonţ, Şerban Pavlu, Gabriel Spahiu and Andreea Grămoşteanu. Goran Bregovic is expected to compose the soundtrack.

    Dan Chişu founded DaKINO Film Festival in Bucharest, the first Romanian film festival after December 1989. Last year he made his first feature, Website Stories, whose premiere is expected for 2009.

    The local premiere of The Bear is set for summer 2010.

    Production information

    Libra Film

    52 Popa Soare street, Et. 1, Ap. 4
    Sector 2 Bucureşti, România

    Phone/Fax:+40. 21.32.66.480
    +40. 21.32.60.268

    http://www.librafilm.net/

    This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

    Credits

    Director: Dan Chişu

    Script: Dan Chişu

    DOP: Vivi Drăgan Vasile

    Cast: Mihai Constantin

    Magda Catone

    Claudiu Bleonţ

    Şerban Pavlu

    Gabriel Spahiu

    Andreea Grămoşteanu