Inspired by real facts, the film shines through its picturesque high concept. The story unfolds in the remote Romanian village of Catane, where all the villagers declared to be disabled in order to avoid paying taxes. A dispatched inspection is about the establish the “truth”, however they discover there is an Odyssey of unpredictable truths that both enchant and awaken the spectator. Ultimately, the film launches a collection of daring questions: “How to balance opposites, how to blend them into organic joie de vivre? How to combine the archaic and the highly modern in a manner that does not feel alienating or over-rooted? How to blend humor and sorrow in an enriching manner? How to combine inner light and darkness in order to reveal complexity? How to navigate systemic rules in order to preserve our humanity and bring it to its highest potential?” detailed Ioana Mischie.
The script emerged as a UNATC graduation thesis in 2011 coordinated by professor Valeriu Dragusanu and was further developed successfully at Berlinale Talents, Sundance Workshop Calapbio, Cannes Maison des Scenaristes, Les Arcs Films School Village, being already rewarded with the “Best Feature Script Award” by The Manaki Script Lab and Fest Pitching Forum. Several top-notch professionals such as script consultant and creative producer Alby James played a pivotal role in expanding the script in critical moments. Throughout the years, the film attracted interest from top international and national partners. It reunites trans-disciplinary partners from academia, art-house and commercial realms.
“This soul project has overcome incredibly many challenges to come to life. It took more than a decade to secure the needed resources and we are looking forward to sharing it with the world by the end of the year.” added Ioana Mischie.
The film is a co-production between Romania’s Studioset, acclaimed for its daring projects along with Italy’s arthouse Mammut, being co-financed by the Romanian CNC, Italy’s national funding Mifec and proudly supported by Eurimages.
The shooting took place in 2023, in a remote Transylvanian village, over 19 days. Methodologically it is the first “green film” in the region, by securing a sustainable strategy of repurposing objects into a rare audio-visual fabric.
The film reunites a constellation of multi-generational talents. George Dascalescu is the cinematographer, signing one of the best cinematic looks in the recent years. B camera was handled by debut talent Codruta Irina Corocea. Cristina Barbu signs the production design adding surreal tones in the story. Bogdan Ionescu brings to life the art direction, while designing from scratch recycled elements and repurposed objects. The music is skillfully led by Emiliano Mazzenga.
The main cast reunites multi-generational iconic Romanian actors and actresses, led by the Inspector, wittily portrayed by Costel Cascaval (known for Lucian Pintilie’s Terminus Paradis).
The postproduction is currently refined in both Italy and Romania.
The film’s sales agent is Intramovies, an experienced company that promotes cinematic excellence, bridging the past and future of film. “CATANE” will have the WiP market premiere this week in Cannes Market in a closed screening dedicated to distributors and partners. Upon completion and securing the final round of partnerships, the film will premiere by the end of the year.
Ioana Mischie is known as a pioneering artist (writer/director) awarded for film, VR and pioneering transmedia concepts. Her films and scripts have traveled to more than 250 festivals worldwide (including A class Cannes IFF, Venice Biennale IFF, Palm Springs IFF), were developed in top-notch programs (Biennale College Cinema VR, Berlinale Talents) or received distinguished global awards for innovative advancements (The Webby Awards, European XR Awards, Fipadoc Smart Award). Her previous short film Cumulonimbus was shortlisted by Gus Van Sant out of 5000 international entries and was nominated at the Gopo Awards. Being considered a trendsetter in the cinematic field, her most recent projects embraced a new audio-visual genre called noetic fiction (advocating for futures fueled by the advancement of human consciousness): Government of Children, Tangible Utopias, Human Violins, DreamNA. In the recent decade, she marked several milestones in the audio-visual industry after releasing Romania’s first stereoscopic feature, multi-player immersive franchise or the first film involving AI practices creatively. CATANE’s superpower is the storyworld itself. “Ensemble stories are the key fabric that unite us across generations, disciplines and cultures.” concluded Ioana Mischie.
Production companies: Studioset Production (Romania) & Storyscapes (Romania), Mammut Film (Italy)
Producers: Ioana Mischie, Sorin Baican, Ilaria Malagutti
Sales Agent: Intramovies
Credits:
Directors: Ioana Mischie
DoP: George Dascalescu
Editor: Ciprian Cimpoi
Production Designer: Cristina Barbu
Art Director: Bogdan Ionescu
Composer: Emiliano Mazzenga
Colorist: Angelo Francavilla
Sound Mix: Valerio Brini
Sound Design: Stefan Damian
