Somewhere in Palilula, directed by Silviu Purcărete and produced by Libra Film, will be launched in French theaters almost 10 years after its premiere in the competition at the Karlovy Vary IFF and the launch on the big screens in Romania. Two preview screenings are scheduled for September 11 and 16, in the presence of the director, at the Forum des images, in the heart of Paris, at L’Etrange Festival.
A coup de coeur for L’Etrange Festival (September 8–19, 2021), who recently discovered it, the film was included in the section dedicated to the first and second film directors, Nouveaux Talents. Distributed by ED Distribution, “Somewhere in Palilula” will hit the big screens in France at the end of 2021.
“To this day the sole feature film by the great theater director Silviu Purcărete, Palilula is a sort of Romanian version of Alfred Kubin’s “Empire of Dreams”, as when the traveller entering the city crosses over to the other side. A political fable and a Fellinian fantasy, Palilula leads the viewer into a carnival inhabited by lunatics, prostitutes and innocent drunks. If you love daydreams with a Kusturican atmosphere, this movie was made for you. Enter the ghost town… A pure gem.”
Romania in the 60s. On a winter’s night, a mysterious locomotive leaves young gynecologist Serafim in the town of Palilula. He must reach an improbable hospital where no child was ever born… Baffled at first when encountering colorful characters, as seasons pass the doctor lets the locale’s fascination overtake him.