''The Way I Spent the End of the World'' ( ro, Cum mi-am petrecut sfârșitul lumii) is the feature-length film debut of Romanian director

Cătălin Mitulescu Cătălin Mitulescu (; born 13 January 1972 in Bucharest) is a Romanian film director. He graduated from the Caragiale National University of Theatre and Film in Bucharest in 2001. He is best known for the short film '' Trafic'' (Romanian for ...

. It was released on September 15, 2006.

Synopsis

The film is about 17-year-old Eva and 7-year-old Lilu, a sister and brother living in Bucharest during the final years of the communist regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu. After Eva is expelled from her high school for her uncooperative attitude, she is sent to a technical school where she meets Andrei, with whom she plans to escape

communist Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania ( ro, Republica Socialistă România, RSR) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist One-party state, one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989. From 1947 to 1965, the s ...

by swimming across the Danube into Yugoslavia and relocating to Italy. Lilu and his friends, meanwhile, volunteer for a children's choir scheduled to sing for Ceaușescu, hoping this will give them a chance to assassinate the dictator.

Cast and characters

The Matei family

Dorotheea Petre Dorotheea Petre (born 9 January 1981) is a Romanian actress. She won a special jury award for best actress at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006 for her performance as Eva Matei in ''The Way I Spent the End of the World''. Early life She graduated ...

as Eva Matei *

Timotei Duma Timotei is a shampoo brand owned by Unilever. The name Timotei comes from the Finnish word for a wild grass called timothy (''timotei'' in Finnish). The Timotei brand was conceived and designed by Lintas Helsinki in Finland. Timotei shampoo wa ...

as Lalalilu Matei *

Carmen Ungureanu ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the Opé ...

as Maria Matei * Mircea Diaconu as Grigore Matei *

Jean Constantin Jean Constantin (; born Constantin Cornel Jean; 21 August 1927 – 26 May 2010) was a well-known Romanian comedian of Greek ethnicity. Constantin was born in Techirghiol, and died in Constanța. Filmography *' (2010) .... Agârbiceanu *''Vine ...

as Uncle Florică

Lilu's friends

Valentino Marius Stan Valentino may refer to People * Valentino (surname), including a list of people with the name * Valentino (given name), including a list of people with the name Mononymous persons * Valentino (fashion designer) (born Valentino Clemente Ludovi ...

as Tarzan *

Marian Stoica Marian may refer to: People * Mari people, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group in Russia * Marian (given name), a list of people with the given name * Marian (surname), a list of people so named Places *Marian, Iran (disambiguation) * Marian, Queensla ...

as Silvică

Eva's friends

Cristian Văraru Cristian is the Romanian and Spanish form of the male given name Christian. In Romanian, it is also a surname. Cristian may refer to: People * Cristian (footballer, born 1994), Brazilian footballer * Cristian Adomniței (born 1975), Romanian eng ...

as Andrei, Eva's friend *

Ionuț Becheru Ionuț is a Romanian masculine given name. The English equivalent is Johnny. Notable persons with that name include: * Ionuț Andrei (born 1985), Romanian bobsledder * Ionuț Badea (born 1975), Romanian footballer * Ionuț Bălan (born 1978), Ro ...

as Alexandru Vomică, Eva's boyfriend

Others

Valentin Popescu Valentin is a male given name meaning "strong, healthy, power, rule, terco". It comes from the Latin name ''Valentinus'', as in Saint Valentin. Commonly found in Spain, Romania, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Scandinavia, Latin America ...

as the music teacher *

Grigore Gonta Grigore, the equivalent of Gregory, is a Romanian-language first name. It may refer to: *Grigore Alexandrescu (1810–1885), Romanian poet and translator *Grigore Antipa (1866–1944), Romanian Darwinist biologist, ichthyologist, ecologist, oceano ...

as Ceaușică * Florin Zamfirescu as the school director *

Monalisa Basarab Monalisa Basarab (born 23 April 1972, Tulcea) is a Romanian theater and film actress. Biography She graduated in 1995 from Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca, Faculty of Theater and Television, acting specialization, in the class of profes ...

as choir teacher * Corneliu Țigancu as Bulba *

Nicolae Enache Praida Nicolae may refer to: * Nicolae (name), a Romanian name * ''Nicolae'' (novel), a 1997 novel See also *Nicolai (disambiguation) *Nicolao Nicolao is an Italian given name and a surname. It may refer to the following: Given name *Nicolao Civitali ...

as Titi

Awards

* Dorotheea Petre - Premiul de interpretare feminină (Female actor award) * Dorotheea Petre - Un Certain Regard Award for Best Actress,

2006 Cannes Film Festival The 59th Cannes Film Festival was held from 17 to 28 May 2006. Twenty films from eleven countries were in competition for the Palme d'Or. The President of the Official selection Jury was Wong Kar-wai, the first Chinese director to preside over the ...

Alternative titles

* Comment j'ai fêté la fin du monde (French title) * How I Celebrated the End of the World (alternative translation)