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Film Archive

Somewhere in Palilula

East of the West - Competition 2012 / Undeva la Palilula / Romania 2012

A young pediatrician named Serafim arrives in Palilula, a small town somewhere off the map, where he is to start his first job after graduating from medical school. But he soon realizes that his dream of practising medicine in this town, a place where time has stopped, will not be fulfilled – and not merely because it’s been ages since a child was born there.

Somewhere in Palilula Somewhere in Palilula

Synopsis

A young pediatrician named Serafim arrives in Palilula, a small town somewhere off the map, where he is to start his first job after graduating from medical school. But he soon realizes that his dream of practising medicine in this town, a place where time has stopped, will not be fulfilled – and not merely because it’s been ages since a child was born there. Thus the maternity ward is used as a spa, a public house, an insane asylum, and various other things. In addition, the local doctors together with the larger-than-life inhabitants (slaves to the bottle one and all) organize endless lavish revels, never worrying themselves too much about work. Set in 1960s Romania, this original, artistically stylized movie is a successful allegory of the collapse of the communist regime. In his late film debut, renowned theater director Silviu Purcărete invites viewers into a world full of bizarre characters, surreal spectacles, and Kafkaesque situations.

About the film

141 min / Color, DCP
International premiere

Director Silviu Purcărete / Screenplay Silviu Purcărete / Dir. of Photography Adrian Silişteanu / Music Vasile Şirli / Editor Cătălin Cristuţiu / Producer Tudor Giurgiu / Production Libra Film / Cast Aron Dimeny, George Mihăiţă, Răzvan Vasilescu, Constantin Chiriac, Sorin Leoveanu, Ofelia Popii, Andi Ştefănescu / Contact Libra Film Productions
www: www.undevalapalilula.ro

About the director

Silviu Purcărete

Silviu Purcărete (b. 1950, Bucharest) is one of Romania’s top theater directors. During a career that spans more than 30 years, he has been awarded numerous prizes and his work has been lauded in countries around the world. He has celebrated success with both dramas (e.g. his acclaimed staging of Faust was all the rage at the 2009 Edinburgh International Festival) and operas (La Bohème and Parsifal, among many others). He has worked with the National Theater of Craiova for many years, and he recently began directing for the National Theater of Sibiu. His film debut, Somewhere in Palilula, brings together major names from Romanian theater and film.

Contacts

Libra Film Productions
52 Popa Soare St., 023 984, Bucharest
Romania
Phone: +40 213 266 480
Fax: +40 213 260 268
E-mail: [email protected]

Guests

Tudor Giurgiu
Film Director

Silviu Purcărete
Film Director

Oana Bujgoi-Giurgiu
Producer

Aron Dimeny
Actor

George Mihaita
Actor

Dragos Buhagiar
Film Crew

Vasile Sirli
Film Crew

Other partners
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