A new film by the celebrated Romanian film maker Cristi Puiu, made with the support of Film Center Serbia and with the participation of Serbian authors, is set to open a new competition program called “Meetings” at this year’s 70th Berlinale.
The Berlinale screening of Malmkrog, based on Vladimir Solovyov’s philosophical treatise “Three Conversations,” was co-produced by Romania, Serbia, Switzerland, Sweden, Northern Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Produced by Anka Puiu for Mandragora (Romania), the lead producer is Anamaria Antoci, co-produceers are Milan Stojanović of Sense Production, Ivica Vidanović of Cinnamon Film (Serbia), Jorgen Andersen of Doppleganger (Sweden), Dan Wesler of Bord Cadre Films ( Switzerland), Mirsad Purivatra of Production 2006 (BiH) and Labin Mitevska of the Mitevski Siblings (Northern Macedonia).
The sound design is by Serbian sound designers Zoran Maksimović and Ognjen Popić. Computer visual effects were created by Živa Stanojević and Vukan Burić, and the film is set to tjhe music by Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac, a Serbian romantic composer. In addition, Serbia camera operators worked on the film, using equipment from one of the local movie rentals. Film Center Serbia supported the project ” (then called Summer House) through the competition for co-financing minority co-productions in 2018.
Cristi Puiu is a screenwriter and director, known for his many award-winning films The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005), Aurora (2010), Stuff and Dough (2001), and Sieranevada (2016). He is considered the pioneer of the Romanian New Wave and one of the most important pan-European film directors. Each of his feature films was presented at the Cannes Film Festival. Stuff and Dough was featured in the “Fifteen Days of the Author” section, and The Death of Mr. Lazarescu was awarded the Un Certain Regard prix. Aurora was shown in the same section, while Sieranevada, the fourth film in the series “Six Stories from the Suburbs of Bucharest”, was shown in the main competition program of the Cannes Festival.