Romania | 2004 | col | 82min | dir. Napoleon Helmis | cast: Mara Niculescu, Ana Ularu, Vlad Zamfirescu, Emil Hostina In Romanian with English subtitles.
The Italian Girls is the story of two young sisters determined to leave their home town to go in Spain and work as illegal strawberry pickers. However, their dreams are quickly shattered by the cold truth of reality as their expectations cannot be fulfilled. While confronting serious issues, the film's lyricism and comic timing often reminds of Emir Kusturica's Black Cat, White Cat.
This is the first Romanian film that aims to portray and analyze the psychological states and attitudes of those compatriots who, after December 1989, tried to change their social status and way of life venturing into other areas of Western Europe. Mircea Dumitrescu, film critic
Napoleon Helmis, aka Nap Toader (b. 1969), is a Romanian film director, scriptwriter and Associate Professor at the Academy of Cinematography in Bucharest. Selected filmography: Wedding in Basarabia (2009), Challenge Day (2005), Sara (2002). His latest film, Wedding in Basarabia won the Special Jury Prize at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2009 and was presented during the 2010 Montreal World Film Festival, Focus on World Cinema.
Romanian Cinematheque is a partnership with the National Centre for Cinematography in Romania (CNC)
When: Thu 10 February 2011, 7pm; Where: Romanian Cultural Institute London. Free entrance. To attend please email office@icr-london.co.uk or call 0207 752 0134. Early booking recommended.
