Les Films de Cannes à Bucarest celebrates Vlad Ivanov, who turned 50 this year. The festival dedicated a section, called IVANOV 50, to the actor, who charms each and every camera with the roles he takes up; the section includes five of the most important films in which he stars: Sunset, Dogs, The Whistlers, Principles of life and Hier.
At the same time, the festival opening ceremony will dedicate a special moment to the actor and many other surprises.
How could one forget his acting after seeing him in the extraordinary role of Mr. Bebe (role which brought him, among others, the prestigious Los Angeles Critics Award trophy for Best Foreign Actor of the Year), a typical exponent of the Ceausescu era, in which good and evil had become an inseparable blend? Ivanov manages to portray a repulsive, yet captivating character, the embodiment of a man abused by a repressive regime, who finds it natural to survive, in his turn, through another abuse. It’s impossible to get it out of your mind. So memorable was his role in Cristian Mungiu’s feature film 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days, awarded with Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2007, that it ran the risk of taking over his future career. But his wit and instinct never failed him: the scores to come confirmed his skill as a major European composition actor, always open to new challenges. His ability to portray both the amiable neighbour, as well as the evil one, turned him into a unique artist, who blends along with his roles. Ivanov is also a remarkable theatre actor, rewarded with several prizes not only on the big screens, but also on stage. His secondary scores (such as the ones in Snowpiercer, of this year’s Palme d’Or laureate Bong Joon-ho, In The Fog by Sergei Loznitsa or The Child’s Pose by Calin Netzer) are just as powerful as the main ones. In 2005, Vlad received the Cultural Merit Order from the President of Romania.
“I really want to be in a part that is powerful and which comes from very deep inside. Even if it’s just in a sequence” Vlad Ivanov declared in an interview for the famous American publication Variety. The actor, one of the most versatile and appreciated European performers of the moment, will open the first edition of LFC at Botosani, city that honoured him with the title of “honorary citizen”.
In Hier (2018), directed by Bálint Kenyeres, Vlad Ivanov becomes Victor Ganz, a 50-years-old man, owner of a civilian construction company that provides its services all over the world. Because of a series of problems occurring on a working site in Morocco, he is forced to go on location, where he will confront some memories from his youth, which he had managed to bury up until now.
“A marvellous journey through an emotional labyrinth”, as Cineuropa deems it, Hier will screen on Friday, 18th October, starting 20:30, at Peasant Museum Cinema, in the presence of director Bálint Kenyeres and actor Vlad Ivanov.
Filmmaker Bálint Kenyeres will go with the film Hier at Les Films de Cannes à Timișoara, as well, where he will open up a conversation with the public, after the screening on Saturday, 19th October, starting 20:00, at the Aula Magna of the West University of Timisoara.
In Principles of life (2010), directed by Constantin Popescu, Vlad Ivanov animates Velicanu, a satisfied man, with a young wife, a villa in construction and a week’s vacation at the seaside – all waiting for him. Velicanu takes the road above everyone else in Bucharest, convinced that he is the one with all the truths toward a civilized life, it’s a shame, however, that not everyone follows him blindly. But things start to tangle and this “quietly absorbing, deadpan-droll character study of a man at odds with the modern world, much too stubborn to just go with the flow”, as Hollywood Reporter calls it, ends up violently. The film will screen on Wednesday, 23rd October, starting 20:30 at Instituto Cervantes, where actor Vlad Ivanov will be present for a discussion after the film.
In Dogs (2016), directed by Bogdan Mirica, Vlad Ivanov plays Samir, the man you would never want to meet. “First time I watched Dogs, at Cannes, I myself shuddered at what had happened on the screen”, Vlad Ivanov was saying in an interview after the premiere of the film in its native country. Seemingly an affable and charismatic Tartar, Samir is in fact a gangster from Dobrogea, cruel and bloody. On the other side of the barricade, there is Hogas, played by Gheorghe Visu, the policeman who’s been on the hunt all his life, and between these two guys there comes Roman, who is looking to settle the documents for an inheritance.
Screened in 2016 at Cannes, under the Un Certain Regard section, Dogs, “a moving film, set somewhere at the end of the world”, as one can read on Télérama, will screen at Les Films de Cannes à Bucarest on Saturday, 26th October, starting 20:00, at Instituto Cervantes.
In The Whistlers (2019), directed by Corneliu Porumboiu, Vlad Ivanov returns to the role of policeman. This time he puts the Romanian Explicative Dictionary away, stands up from his desk and makes his way for Gomera, where he learns a whistled language, facilitating his removal of a dealer from prison. The Whistlers is a film noir, in which everyone lies, whether in words or whistling, and Cristi is no exception.
Vlad Ivanov learned El Siblo, language still used today on the Spanish isle: “Our eyes were popping out of our heads, saliva would come out of our mouths, we would choke, the first week was horror. I only know a bit of Spanish, but I can understand it. It’s important to speak the language in which you whistle in order to understand. I can whistle in Romanian, I whistled in Romanian in the film, as well”, he says in an interview for Feeder.
“Porumboiu has always been the funniest of the Romanian New Wave, even if he’s into bitter plot twists and an abrupt manner of telling stories. Here, with all the genre conventions, he delivers pure entertainment”, one can read in The Age. The Whistlers, present this year in the main competition at Cannes, will screen on Saturday, 19th October, at Peasant Museum Cinema, starting 17:30.
Vlad Ivanov will be special guest of Les Films de Cannes à Botoșani, where he will introduce the screening of The Whistlers, on Sunday, 20th October, starting 20:00, at Unirea Cinema.
In Sunset (2018), László Nemes turns Vlad Ivanov in the owner of a chic hat store, somewhere in central Budapest, at the dawn of a new century, war knocking on the door. Oszkár Brill manages, to a certain extent, with the elegance hallmark of that epoch and the firmness of an experienced businessman, to protect Iris, the young rightful heiress of the store. It is only that, when the twilight of an era is upon the horizon, everything becomes variable. For this role, the actor had to learn Hungarian.
“Son of Saul director László Nemes deftly conjures the death throes of the Austro-Hungarian empire in an atmospheric mystery drama”, The Guardian remarks. Sunset was presented in premiere at Venice in 2018, winning the FIPRESCI critics’ award. The film will screen on Sunday, 27th October, starting 17:30, at Instituto Cervantes.
The complete program of the tenth edition of Les Films de Cannes à Bucarest is available on the site.
At PRO Cinema, Elvire Popesco Cinema, Peasant Museum Cinema, Romanian National Museum of Art – Auditorium Hall, the tickets prces are 15 lei for tickets purchased by 18thOctober and 20 lei fro tickets purchased during the festival (18th – 27th October 2019). At Union Cinematheque tickets cost 10 lei or 8, 5, 3 lei for subscription holders.
Tickets can be purchased from Eventbook.ro, the Eventbook headquarters in Actor Ion Brezoianu Street 21, the Eventbook network and from the cash desks of Elvire Popesco Cinema, Peasant Museum Cinema and Union Cinematheque. More details about tickets can be found on the site.
Keep up to date with the latest news regarding the tenth edition of Les Films de Cannes à Bucarest, on the official website filmedefestival.ro and on the official Facebook page.
Les Films de Cannes à Bucarest is presented by Orange Romania, a traditional partner of the event.
Official Car of the Festival: Renault.
With the support of: Catena, Apa Nova, Groupama Asigurări.
The tenth edition of Les Films de Cannes à Bucarest is organized by the Cinemascop Association and Voodoo Films, in partnership with Embassy of France and the French Institute in Bucharest.
Les Films de Cannes à Bucarest is a cultural project financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Identity, the National Centre of Cinematography, and and realized with the support of SACD / Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques.
Partners: Air France, KLM, The Romanian Cultural Institute, Europa Cinemas, Hotel Mercure, SERVE, UPS, Eventbook.
Main media partners: Magic FM, Rock FM, Adevărul, Dilema Veche, Historia, TVR
Media partners: Radio România Cultural, Zile și Nopți, Elle, Observatorul Cultural, News.ro, Ziarul Metropolis, AaRC, Movienews, Igloo, Banchiza Urbană, FilmNewEurope, Cineghid, Cinemap, Agerpres, Liternet, FilmMenu.
Media coverage partner: Mediatrust
