Dogs
Spring Grants 2016
Bogdan Florian Mirica / Feature Narrative / Romania, France, Bulgaria, Qatar / 2016 / 104 min / Colour / Original Language: Romanian / Interests: Thriller, Drama
Synopsis
Young Roman gets a whole lot more than he bargained for when he inherits a large tract of land on the Romanian border with Ukraine from his late grandfather. His hopes that the sale of the property, for which as a city-dweller he has no particular use, will be a painless transaction are dashed soon after he arrives at the house and meets Granddad’s associates, who – very firmly and with more than a little menace – advise him not to sell.
So begins Bogdan Florian Mirică’s deftly constructed thriller, which hovers somewhere in the space between the wide open frontier of a classic Western and the claustrophobic living spaces that often characterise the films of the recent Romanian New Wave. As Roman’s tale progresses and he comes to uncover both the shady past dealings that have taken place here and how the local thugs are involved, things start to add up and the sinister threat of extreme violence becomes palpable.
Much of Romanian cinema over the past few decades has been a consistently clear-eyed examination – and often an insightful critique – of the social and political climate in that country in the years since the violent overthrow of Nicolae Ceaușescu’s harsh regime. With ‘Dogs’, Mirică continues this project, on the one hand exposing a form of corruption that flourished under the communists, and on the other musing on how and why that same corruption continues in a country that on paper has abolished the tyranny of authoritarian rule.
Credits
- Director
- Bogdan Florian Mirică
- Screenwriter
- Bogdan Florian Mirică
- Producer
- Marcela Ursu, Elie Meirovitz
- Production Company
- EZ Films, 42 KM FILM, ARGO FILM
About the Director
Bogdan Florian Mirică studied Screenwriting at the University of Westminster, London. In 2011, Mirică wrote and directed his first short film, ‘Bora Bora’, which was named Best European Short Film in Premiers Plans (Angers, France), and was selected for the Festival del Film Locarno and the Warsaw and Thessaloniki International Film Festivals, among others. Mirică’s debut feature-length script, ‘Dogs’, was selected for L’Atelier du Festival at the Festival de Cannes, TorinoFilmLab’s Script & Pitch, and Cinelink, where it won the ARTE Award. The film had its premiere in the Un Certain Regard section of the Festival de Cannes in 2016.
Awards and Festival History
Festivals
"Warsaw Film Festival 2016, Discoveries
La Rochelle International Film Festival 2016
Lisbon and Estoril Film Festival 2016"
"FIPRESCI Prize, Cannes Film Festival 2016, Un Certain Regard (WP)
Transilvania Trophy, Transilvania International Film Festival 2016
Special Jury Mention and Heart of Sarajevo for Best Actor (Gheorghe Visu), Sarajevo Film Festival 2016
Best First Foreign
Contacts
-
Main Contact
Marcela Ursu
- Company:
- 42 KM FILM
- Phone:
- +40741047110 / +40741047116
- Email:
- mursu@42kmfilm.com
-
Main Contact
Elie Meirovitz
- Company:
- EZ Films
- Email:
- elie@ez-films.com