WINNER EUROPEAN SHORT FILM 2019

On the 20th of December, 1989, a few days after Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu's bloody repression in Timisoara, a father’s quiet evening turns to sheer ordeal as he finds out that his little son has mailed a letter of wishes to Santa. As far as the child understood, his father’s desire was to see Ceausescu dead.

Direction: Bogdan Mureşanu

Script: Bogdan Mureşanu

Production: Bogdan Mureşanu

Co-Production: Vlad Iorga, Victor Dumitrovici, Eduardo M Escribano Solera

Cinematography: Tudor Platon

Editing: Andrei Bălășoiu

Production Design: Ramona Vârtosu

Costume Design: Ramona Vârtosu

Make-Up: Bianca Marca

Sound: Sebastian Zsemlye

Cast: Adrian Văncică, Ioana Flora

Original Title: CADOUL DE CRĂCIUN

Original Language: Romanian

Film Production Countries: Romania, Spain

Statement of the Director/s
Soon, there will be 30 years since the Revolution, and I think that such a film may raise some questions regarding the freedom of expression, personal dignity and other such concepts that have become demonetised or have become, in turn, part of an ossified language (not to say a wooden one). In conclusion, I would like to mention that, in my opinion, there have not been enough films about this period in our history (in fact not enough movies were make in a realistic, unmasked manner) and I believe that, more than ever, we need them. Why? To temper nostalgic people or the simply politically disoriented ones (there is now a kind of anti-corporatist, hipster like left movement) and to recover some of the question marks even if we cannot always give the right answers.

Biography of the Director/s
Award-winning writer Bogdan Mureșanu has shifted from literature and advertising to cinema. As a screenwriter, he won Best Short in the 2008 HBO TIFF scriptwriting competition with THE HUMAN TORCH which premiered in 2013.
He produced and directed his first short film in 2012, based on his own script, HALF SHAVED.
In 2016, Bogdan finished his next short called SPID. In the same year, his short art film NEGRUZZI 14 was show-cased at the National Museum of Contemporary Art.
In 2018, his short animation film THE MAGICIAN was undergoing pre-production while the short fiction THE CHRISTMAS GIFT was travelling the world winning no less than ten awards in less than six months.
Bogdan is currently working as a scriptwriting consultant for DITTATURA LAST MINUTE, an Italian production, to be directed by Antonio Pisu in 2019.

Filmography of the Director/s
2019 - OPINCI
2018 - THE CHRISTMAS GIFT
2016 - SPID
2016 - NEGRUZZI 14
2013 - HALF SHAVED

Awards Won
2019 - Palm Springs Short Film Festival - Best in Festival Prize
2019 - Art Film Fest Kosice - Special Mention
2019 - UCIN Uniunea Cineastilor din Romania - Cel mai bun scurt metraj
2019 - Brussels Short Film Festival - Jury Prize
2019 - Brussels Short Film Festival - Best actor Adrian Văncică
2019 - GOPO Award - Best Romanian Short Film
2019 - Tampere IFF - Candidate EFA European Film Academy Awards
2019 - Tampere IFF - Best Fiction Category Prize
2019 - Tampere IFF - Audience Award International Competition
2019 - Palencia MCIP - Youth Jury Prize Best International Short Film
2019 - Clermont-Ferrand IFF - Grand Prix
2018 - Zubroffka IFF - THE WILD BISON AWARD
2018 - Interfilm Berlin - 2nd Prize in Confrontations Competition
2018 - Zinebi IFF - SCRIPT AWARD SGAE FOUNDATION
2018 - Alcine IFF - 1st Prize
2018 - Cottbus IFF - Grand Prize
2018 - CINEMED Montpellier - Jury Special Mention
2018 - Transilvania IFF - Best Short Award (Romanian Days)

Production Company:
Kinotopia
Bogdan Muresanu
Iacob Negruzzi 14
Bucharest, 011904, Romania
E-Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +40 724227015
Website: http://www.kinotopia.ro/

World Sales:
Mailuki Films
Eduardo Escribano Solera
BILBAO, center.
Bilbao, 011901, Spain
E-Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +40 724227015
Website: http://www.mailukifilms.com/