Marina Voica stars in “Night Butterflies”
"Night Butterflies", Andrei Răuțu’s debut film, reflects the way we relate to time, memory and the stories of the generations that have marked our culture.
Corina Sabău, 21.02.2026, 14:00
At 89 years old, artist Marina Voica remains a fascinating presence and surprisingly young in spirit. “Night Butterflies”, Andrei Răuțu’s debut film, is an intimate incursion into her life and energy, but also a reflection on the way we relate to time, memory and the stories of the generations that have marked our culture. A pioneer of Romanian pop music, Marina Voica becomes, in front of the camera, more than a music legend: a living, playful and curious character, who continues to inspire through the freedom she lives by. The film took three years to shoot, with an extremely small crew. “Night Butterflies” continues the same intimate line from Andrei Răuțu’s 2020 short film, “Bucharest Seen from Above.” Selected at the Transylvania International Festival, the film features Marina Voica, Ștefan Iancu, and Elvira Deatcu and was inspired by the director’s personal experience of documenting his grandmother diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
Beyond the portrait of an artist, “Night Butterflies” opens a necessary discussion about the importance of bringing older characters to the screen, voices rarely seen in contemporary films, but who have the power to move and inspire. With Andrei Răuțu, we spoke about meeting Marina Voica, who was noticed after a casting, and about cinema as a form of play and intuition, but also as an exploration of the connection between memory, fragility, and the vital energy of an artist: “When I saw her at the casting, I hadn’t even written the script for Bucharest Seen from Above, but I knew that at some point I would need a representation of my grandmother in a fiction film. And I was surprised by the similarities she had with my grandmother, by the contrast between external fragility and inner strength. I found many of the qualities my grandmother had in her. I fictionalized it enough to work as a short story, but I worked almost like on a documentary. In the case of that film, I was interested in the separation from home of a woman who has loved the space she has lived in all her life and is forced to leave it in favor of a path that doesn’t seem to lead anywhere. Referring to my generation, I would say that what we bring, as a novelty, is another way of portraying third age, to which we try to find the playful dimensions. As far as I’m concerned, I discovered cinema as a medium for play. You have the text, the sound, the image, the actors, and all these tools give you a joy very close to a child’s play. And I think it’s important, especially in an industry where it’s hard to finance your projects, not to get stuck. Ok, I don’t have the resources, but I want to play with what I have. And that’s why this playful spirit is important, so as not to get stuck, waiting endlessly for funding.”
Out of the wish to maintain intimacy and closeness to the character, Andrei Răuțu chose to film it himself, transforming the documentary into a true “home movie”. “I wanted to tell this story without artifice, without hiding the filming imperfections, because they are precisely what give authenticity. During all this time, a relationship of trust and friendship was created between Marina and me. I discovered not only the artist I knew from the stage and the film set, but also the person who still plays, laughs, loves and remains young in spirit,” says the director.
We spoke with Marina Voica about the art for which she made numerous sacrifices and about the film Night Butterflies, directed by Andrei Răuțu, in which she stars: “Things came together after our collaboration on his first film, although even then I was hardly convinced to play the role he proposed to me. But it was a tremendous experience for me, because I understood many things about cinema. Regarding this new film and this new collaboration with Andrei Răuțu, I tell you honestly, I didn’t think it would turn out so impressive. I was really impressed by what I saw. But it probably turned out so well because I already trusted Andrei. For me, Andrei is a very good friend, a person who has become very important to me. Coming back to my art, if I am asked why I make films, who I sing for, the answer is very simple: for the audience. And I think that together with Andrei, through this film, we managed to give the audience art as we feel it.”
“Night Butterflies” is a film made with minimal resources, but which draws its strength from Marina Voica’s energy and the special relationship between the director and the actress.
