Romanian director's debut feature film selected in 2019 Berlinale section

Monsters., the debut feature film of Romanian director Marius Olteanu, will have its world premiere in the Forum section at the 2019 Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale). This year’s Berlinale will take place between February 7 and February 17. The Romanian movie Monsters. follows married couple Dana and Arthur during 24 hours in Bucharest. It explores the clash between social values and the individual choice via bisexuality, the rejection of motherhood, and challenges to traditional concepts of love, according to a press release. The film is structured in three parts: one about Dana, one about Arthur and one about the two of them together. Marius Olteanu, born in Bucharest in 1979, studied Film Directing at the National University of Theater and Film “I.L. Caragiale” in Romania. In 2008, he got a M.A. in Film Directing from the National Film and Television School, United Kingdom. His short films focused on the clash between private and social life and the boundaries that arise. His last two shorts, Tie (2015), which was the starting point for his feature debut Monsters., and No Man’s Land (2017) were selected in more than 30 festivals Marius Olteanu also worked as an assistant director for the award-winning film Sieranevada by Cristi Puiu and is also a published photographer. Monsters. stars Romanian actors Judith State, who performed in Sieranevada, which screened in the competition in Cannes 2016, and Cristian Popa. Co-starring are Alexandru Potocean and Serban Pavlu who won Best Actor for Meda or the not so Bright Side of Things by Emanuel Parvu in Sarajevo 2017 and played in Radu Jude’s Scarred Hearts (Locarno 2016 Don Quixote Award, Special Jury Prize). Monsters. is produced by Parada Film (Claudiu Mitcu) and coproduced by Wearebasca (Robert Fita, Ioachim Stroe) and Marius Olteanu. Romania lands Golden Bear at Berlin festival with film about sexual intimacy Romanian film review – Striking Gold: Berlinale 2018 Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com