After debuting with A Month in Thailand [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Paul Negoescu
scheda film] in 2012, directing one of his country’s very few domestic hits, Two Lottery Tickets [+leggi anche:
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trailer
intervista: Paul Negoescu
scheda film], in 2016 and releasing The Story of a Summer Lover [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] in 2018, Romanian director Paul Negoescu is ready to start production on his fourth feature, Men of Deeds [+leggi anche:
recensione
intervista: Paul Negoescu
scheda film]. The project is being staged by Negoescu’s Papillon Film in co-production with Tangaj Production, represented by Anamaria Antoci, Screening Emotions (Poli Angelova, Bulgaria) and Avanpost Production (Romania).

The screenplay, written by Radu Romaniuc and Oana Tudor, focuses on Ilie (Iulian Postelnicu, who has become one of Romania’s most sought-after leading actors after his impressive performance in Andrei Cohn’s Arrest [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Andrei Cohn
scheda film]), the forty-something chief of police in a village in Northern Romania, close to the Ukrainian border. Surrounded by illegalities (for example, both the mayor and the village priest smuggle cigarettes on the side) and dreaming of settling down, Ilie will soon feel the pressure to finally do what he has been supposed to do for years: protect the villagers and fight the abuse of power.

The 25-day shoot will start on 10 May. The budget amounts to circa €900,000, with a little less than €400,000 coming from the Romanian National Film Center. The project has also received support from the Bulgarian National Film Center, the Creative Europe - MEDIA programme and Eurimages. Vasile Muraru, Anghel Damian, Daniel Busuioc, Crina Semciuc and Oana Tudor play supporting characters in the film.

Producer Anamaria Antoci tells Cineuropa that Men of Deeds was supposed to start production last year, but the lockdown halted all preparations, including the casting process and location scouting. The producer says that shooting in an isolated region will definitely make the production easier. “The team will work remotely, without any interactions with friends or family members, which will certainly decrease the risk of infections.” She estimates that as much as 5% of the budget will be spent on observing the health-and-safety measures necessary for the shoot.

Negoescu says that, even if he has so far been interested in urban characters, Ilie doesn’t stray far from the director’s previous male protagonists: “My interest in these characters was their inability to adapt, as they are all unable to connect with their emotions, running from reality until fate forces a reality check upon them.” The director says his film will explore the toxic masculinity widespread in Eastern Europe. “Males are told from early childhood how they are expected to behave and what their purpose is in life: to be strong, to dominate and to be winners. Men are not allowed to cry or suffer. They are supposed to have a family, to get married and have children, to provide for and protect their families. And Ilie doesn’t fit these expectations at all,” Negoescu explains.

Men of Deeds will be released domestically in 2022.