Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
independent film
An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...
directed by
George Dorobanțu
George Dorobanţu (born October 14, 1974) is a Romanian filmmaker. He made his directorial debut with ''Elevator'' (2008), an indie production adapting Gabriel Pintilei's stage play of the same title. Aside from being a director, he is also worki ...
and written by . The screenplay adapts Pintilei's own 2004 stageplay ''Elevator'', which was inspired by a real story that took place in London in 2002. Both the movie and the play won several national and international awards.
Background
In 2004, during a student party at the
Caragiale Academy of Theatrical Arts and Cinematography
The Caragiale National University of Theatre and Film, Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea Națională de Artă Teatrală și Cinematografică "I.L. Caragiale") is a public university in Bucharest, Romania, founded in 1954. It is named in honour of pla ...
(UNATC), Gabriel Pintilei began work on what would become the play entitled ''Elevator''. He won the DramAcum2 contest for the play.
Alexandra Păun and George Dorobanţu became interested in the cinematographic adaptation of the play after seeing a stage version directed by Adrian Zaharia, at the Teatrul Foarte Mic theater in Bucharest. In 2005 Păun and Dorobanţu met Gabriel Pintilei. After seeing the performances of Iulia Verdeş and Cristi Petrescu in a performance of the play that Pintilei directed, Păun and Dorobanţu cast the two stage actors in leading, and only, roles in the film.
Principal photography took place during 18 days, in August and September 2005, in the Odeon Theatres cargo elevator. The editing dragged on for 2 years, and Florin Piersic Jr joined during the post-production phase as a technical consultant. Ada Milea composed the score, while the end title's song was written by Dan Lăzărescu.
The film was first screened in 2008 at the International Film Festival of Uruguay.
Awards
* "Best Romanian Debut of 2008" award from ''Romanian Film Critics Association'', Bucharest, Romania (May 2009)
* "Audience Choice Award – Best Film" and "Special Commendation – Best First Film" at ''South-East European Film Festival'', Los Angeles, USA (May 2009)
* "Best Debut Award" at ''
Gopo Awards
The Gopo Awards ( ro, Premiile Gopo) are the national Romanian film awards, similar to the Academy Awards (US), the Goya Awards (Spain), or the César Award (France). They are presented by the Association for Romanian Film Promotion and were inaug ...
'' 2009, Bucharest, Romania (March 2009)
* "Best Editing Award" from ''Romanian Filmmakers Union –
UCIN
The Romanian Filmmakers Union ( ro, Uniunea Cineaştilor din România), known as UCIN, is the continuation since 1990 of the Communist-era Asociaţia Cineaştilor din România (The Romanian Filmmakers Association).Fresh Film Fest'', Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic (August 2008)
* "Best Romanian Debut Award" at ''
Transilvania International Film Festival
The Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF; ro, Festivalul internațional de film Transilvania) is the first international feature film festival in Romania, which is held annually in the historic capital of Transylvania, Cluj-Napoca. Found ...