10/01/2007

Cineuropa met with Romanian Shooting Star Maria Popistasu in Gent, where she was shooting Man zoekt Vrouw (lit. "Man Seeks Woman"), the latest film by Miel Van Hoogenbemt, in which she plays a 25 year-old pregnant cleaning lady working for a and selfish retired high school headmaster.

Cineuropa: How did you arrive in Belgium to shoot this film?
Maria Popistasu: Just before this movie, I worked on the film Crash Test Dummies [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Austrian director Jörg Kalt and in the television movie Sex Traffic, a British co-production directed by David Yates. These two coproductions give me good exposure in the international arena. The producers of Man Seeks Woman saw me in Sex Traffic. They were looking for a Polish actress, but, fortunately for me, they changed the script.

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Working on international productions is a choice or a necessity?
In Romania at the moment there are not so many projects to work on. I was very lucky to start working with international producers and crews. For this reason, I’m happy Romania is entering the EU, as we will have more exposure and the formalities in working abroad will be easier.

Do you feel the Romanian Cinema Centre (the CNC) is willing to develop local cinema?
In the past years the subsidies from the CNC were allocated to the older directors, there was a conservative policy. Some young directors have been questioning the CNC and now there is a better atmosphere, much more open to young talent.

What are your expectations from the Berlin Shooting Star event?
I’m very happy but I’m scared of having too many expectations. I think I will be very busy preparing the press kit and… my birthday, on January 21!