Soldiers: A Story from Ferentari (Soldații: O Poveste din Ferentari)

“Ivana Mladenović’s fiction debut is Romanian social realism with an ethnographic edge, but it’s also a romance between two ostensibly heterosexual men achieving an unexpected bond.” – Screen Daily

An unexpected romance blossoms between two men amid a ramshackle Bucharest neighborhood in this tender, offbeat love story. When Adi, an anthropologist researching regional pop music, meets Alberto, a burly Roma ex-con, the two lonely souls enter into a relationship that tests the societal and moral taboos of their community. Documentarian Ivana Mladenović brings a wonderfully loose-limbed, vérité naturalism to her auspicious narrative debut, based on the eponymous book written by Adrian Schiop who plays himself in the movie.

Screenplay: Adrian Schiop, Ivana Mladenović
Cinematography: Luchian Ciobanu
Cast: Adrian Schiop, Vasile Pavel-Digudai, Ștefan Iancu
Production: Hi Film Productions, Film House Bas Celik, Frakas Productions
Festivals: Toronto, San Sebastian – Sebastiane Award (Special mention), CPH:PIX – Jury Special Mention

Romanian with English subtitles