02/04/2010

If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ada Condeescu
film profile] , winner of the Jury Grand Prix and the Alfred Bauer Prize in this year's Berlinale, is enjoying great results in Romanian cinemas. Florin Şerban's feature debut was released on eight screens on March 26, and came in fourth in the weekend's box office.

Facing tough competition from Hollywood movies such as The Bounty Hunter, Alice in Wonderland and How to Train Your Dragon, If I Want to Whistle was the second most successful release of the week, with 7,103 admissions.

The numbers make Şerban's the best-received Romanian premiere since Palme d'Or winner 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Cristian Mungiu
interview: Oleg Mutu
film profile]. Released domestically in September 2007, Cristian Mungiu's second feature drew 10,851 admissions its opening weekend.

Without a name cast, Şerban's gritty prison drama about a young man (George Piştereanu) who must solve an urgent family crisis from within the prison walls, snagged more admissions its first weekend than Tales From the Golden Age [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], the most popular domestic title of 2009. Released in September, the omnibus film garnered 4,588 admissions from ten screens over its opening weekend.

Corneliu Porumboiu's Police, Adjective [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Corneliu Porumboiu
film profile], winner of six Gopos on Monday (see news), had 2,504 admissions in its first weekend last July, while the more popular The Concert [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Radu Mihaileanu
film profile], winner of four Gopos and two Césars, had 3,220 admissions.

Şerban, who wrote the screenplay with Catalin Mitulescu (How I Spent the End of the World [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), made the movie through Strada Films, one of Romania's leading production companies. Strada released the film through their distribution arm, Metropolis Film.

If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle was co-produced with Sweden's Film i Väst and The Chimney Pot and received €250,000 of its €900,000 budget from the Romanian National Center of Cinematography. World sales are handled by Celluloid Dreams.