Romanian production “Ana, mon amour“ scoops award at the Berlinale

Romanian filmmaker Calin Peter Netzers most recent production “Ana, mon amour won the Silver Bear at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival for Outstanding Artistic Contribution.

Corina Sabău, 25.02.2017, 14:21

The award went to film editor Dana Bunescu. The production has been in Romanian theatres as of March 3rd, shortly after its international premiere. Having won the Golden Bear with “Child’s Pose”, filmmaker Calin Peter Nezter has returned on the big screen with a new film, which gives an insight into the dynamics of the most significant relationships in the life of a man.

“Ana, mon amour” is the analysis of a love story, an atypical insight into the most tense and delicate moments in the life of a couple. Călin Peter Netzer, Cezar Paul Bădescu and Iulia Lumânare wrote the screenplay, inspired from Cezar Paul Bădescu’s novel, “Luminiţa, mon amour”. However, Cezar Paul Badescu made it clear that the film was Netzer’s, and the novel was just the starting point. We asked Cezar-Paul Badescu how he felt after the first screening.

Cezar Paul Badescu: ”It’s kind of odd, because although I knew what was going on in the film, I was ravished when I first saw it. Actually, this is a film that ‘digs’ into those who see it. It invites spectators to an inner investigation, to go very deep into themselves. The film spins the yarn of a story which is completely different from that of the novel. Filmmaker Calin Peter Netzer opted for a different approach, he chose to pursue something different from what I was interested in my novel. In earnest, the basic storyline is the same. It’s about a love relationship that has an ingredient which makes it special, a disease of the nervous system. And that condition, even though it is not very serious, takes its toll on the couple’s relationship. It’s not about the book being made into a film, the screenplay and the film only start off from my novel. When I wrote the screenplay, Calin Peter Netzer selected a couple of scenes from my book, we wrote them into the screenplay and then, together, we developed some stories, you can’t find in the book and which are mainly Calin’s stories.“

Actress Diana Cavaliotti, known for her roles in ‘Recollections from the Golden Age — 2” and the TV series ‘One step Ahead’ and ‘A Mad Week’, has worked with filmmaker Călin Peter Netzer for the first time in her career.

Diana Cavaliotti: ”The experience I had was shattering. It took a long time to shoot the film, rehearsals also took a very long time, about three months, and everything was so intense that I felt each and every scene as if they were my life. For six months of my life I was busy with ‘Ana, mon amour’ from morning till night, round the clock. Building up such a part means placing yourself into some rather difficult situations. Then there’s the way I worked with the director of the film, Călin Peter Netzer, and everything I did in preparation for the film. For instance, I had to see a psychoanalyst. These are things that really take you out of any comfort zone that you might have. And I believe that this film managed, and it is good that it did so, to shatter all the comfort away.”

Apart from Diana Cavallioti and Mircea Postelnicu, the cast of “Ana, mon amour” also includes Adrian Titieni, Vlad Ivanov, Carmen Tănase, Vasile Muraru, Tania Popa and Igor Caras Romanov. For actor Mircea Postelnicu, the role he played in “Ana, mon amour” was also his first lead role in a feature film.

Mircea Postelnicu: ”I gained a lot from that experience and especially from the encounter with Calin, Iulia, Diana and the topic itself. For me, it meant a lot and I realized it opened up some valves that had for long been shut, and I’m referring to the psycho-analytical side of the film. Very briefly, the story is about a relationship which is a bit unhealthy and sick since it very much relies on some projections and thoughts Ana and Toma have nurtured, building up their relationship on a totally unsound foundation. It’s about some sort of a quest that both characters have initiated, in a bid to regain their balance and get back to the basics of that relation and to the truth lying behind it. And in a way, in the long run the story is everybody’s quest, a quest into one’s self. It’s about a quest and a path the two characters take and about how each of them gets their answers and reaches their balance “

“Ana, mon amour” is Călin Peter Netzer’s fourth feature film. He is the author of Maria (2003), which received an award at the prestigious Locarno Film Festival, ‘The Medal of Honor’ (2009), winner of the Silver Alexander Award in Thessalonica, ‘Child’s Pose’ (2013) a production with the biggest box office in the past 15 years. “Ana, mon amour” is a Parada Film Production, co-produced with Augenschein Filmproduktion (Germany) and Sophie Dulac Productions (France).