After being selected in the Cannes short film competition with their very first film, 4:15 P.M. The End of the World, and winning the Special Jury Award at the 2019 IndieLisboa Film Festival with their debut feature Thou Shalt Not Kill [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film], Romanian directorial duo Cătălin Rotaru and Gabi Virginia Şarga are currently in pre-production with their sophomore feature, Where Elephants Go (working title). The project is staged by the directors' Green Cat Film, while Gabi Suciu will co-produce through Atelier de Film.

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The screenplay, written by the two directors, tells the story of Leni (Carina Lăpuşneanu), a girl suffering from cancer. Fearing death, she is preoccupied with leaving a legacy behind. Meanwhile, her mother Magda (Alice Cora Mihalache) goes to great lengths, including selling her body, in order to provide Leni with the best care possible. Marcel (Ştefan Mihai), a depressive young man pondering suicide, suddenly enters the scene and the three protagonists' interactions may prove that all is not lost yet.

Where Elephants Go has a budget of circa €650,000, with approximately €174,000 coming from the Romanian National Film Center. The film will be shot in Bucharest over 25 days in October and November. Adrian Pădureţu, mainly known for Alina Grigore’s San Sebastian Golden Shell winner Blue Moon [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Alina Grigore
scheda film], is the DoP. Secondary characters are played by Richard Bovnoczki, Iulia Verdeș and Andrei Hîncu.

Producer Gabi Suciu tells Cineuropa that the biggest bet faced by the production is the fact that most of the scenes are exteriors, “which means that we will greatly depend on the weather. We want to show Bucharest both in its old-school charm and the modern architectural infusions of a European capital. Our characters live in a world of contrasts and, even if overwhelmed by what is happening, they must learn they are the protagonists of their own lives […] and take control.”

Although the film is described as a comedy, the directors say that “its purpose is not to entertain and to invite the viewer in a world of illusion, but rather to break the illusion and urge the viewer to face essential questions. We don’t consider our viewers as a passive audience, they too are, in part, the film’s authors as they try to decode its meaning. Our intention is to urge the audience to actively participate in our proposed artistic endeavour and, after the screening, maybe they will question their own fictions,” the directors explain.

Where Elephants Go will be domestically released in the second half of 2023.