26
Jan
2017

Cristi Puiu, one of the founders of the New Wave of Romanian cinema, will be president of the International jury of the 21st SIFF

The director will present his latest film "Sieranevada".
The audience can watch his cult films "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu" and "Aurora".

"Sieranevada" is a tragicomic story in which politics is intertwined with the dynamic relationships in a family. The film attracted the attention of the public and experts in the main competition at Cannes 2016, received the awards for Best film and Best director of Chicago 2016, the prize for Best screenplay from the International Cinephile Sociaty Awards, as well as the award for Best cinematography work from the festival in Minsk 2016.

Only three days after the terrorist attack in the office of "Charlie Ebdo" in France and 40 days after the death of his father, 40-years old doctor Larry (Mimi Branesku) is forced to spend one Saturday with his family in unhappy occasion - memorial service. But the collection does not occur as expected - Larry must confront his fears of the past and reflect on their role in the family, revealing no desire to share with others his personal version of the truth ... And while relatives argue about everything the viewer is left with the conviction that Romania is like a big dysfunctional family ...

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Cristi Puiu was born in Bucharest in 1967, studied painting at the Higher School of Visual Arts in Geneva. During his studies he made several short films and documentaries, and after returning to Romania continues to paint, and directed his first film - "Stuff and Dough" (2001), followed by the short "Cigarettes and Coffee" won the "Golden Bear" in its category at the Berlinale 2004.

"Cinema is a laboratory. Cinema is science. There are many things in common in the work of the creators of cinema and scientists - the filmmakers used film as a tool in the same way as scientists use instruments. They ask questions about human existence, about the nature of people and the world. The camera becomes the anthropological tool. To make movies you must have your own style - follow his way, and the more you advance, the more complicated it becomes. If this were not so, I would really not care about the cinema at all... "

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It is impossible to miss the film that became a symbol of the new Romanian cinema - "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu" (2005). Introduced as a project at Sofia Meetings in 2004, the film has its premiere next year in Cannes and received the grand prize of the competition program "Un Certain Regard" and six awards from festivals in Transylvania - the Best Romanian film director, Best actor Ion Fiskuteanu, Best actress Luminita Gheorghiu, FIPRESCI and the Audience awards and also the special prizes of the jury in Chicago, Copenhagen and many other awards.

The audience of the 21st SIFF will have the opportunity to meet again with Mr. Lazarescu - plagued by nausea and headaches, he called the ambulance, without ever suspecting for epic odyssey that will happen in this strange night. Transfer from doctor to doctor, terribly busy and exhausted from all the work of the hospital to hospital - stuffy and overcrowded with patients while his life slowly fades away ...

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The next film Christi Puiu's "Aurora" (2010) again had its world premiere in the "Un Certain Regard" at Cannes, then received prestigious international awards from various film forums, including Wiesbaden and Karlovy Vary, where the film won the competition "East of West".

The main character in "Aurora" is Viorel, played by himself Christi Puiu - a man that reached the crucial point of tolerance towards the world around him. He is 40-years-old engineer from Bucharest; he left work to get rid of the constant feeling of insecurity that torments him after his divorce. Determined to seek the big change, he finds a hunting rifle that proved necessary and useful tool for achieving the cherished goal ...

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"There is a huge paradox in the business of movie-making. You can make a movie if you're a humanist. But actually you can not be a humanist, if the conditions in which you are working on the film are not humane. And then it turns out that it is possible to do the opposite - following concessions and compromises you have to be cruel. Then how should be brought together this particular discourse and your life? I do not know ... There is a cruel contrast between people's perceptions and reality, and maybe it is not possible to escape this paradox ... "- Cristi Puiu

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