interview with florin serban

IF I WANT
TO WHISTLE,
I WHISTLE
A FILM BY FLORIN
SERBAN
STARRING
GEORGE PISTEREANU
ADA CONDEESCU
CLARA VODA˘
MIHAI CONSTANTIN
MARIAN BRATU
CHILIBAR PAPAN
PRODUCED BY
˘ ˘
CATALIN
MITULESCU, DANIEL MITULESCU
Romania/Sweden – 2010 – Thriller – 94 min – Colour – Romanian
www.vreausafluier.ro
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SYNOPSIS
Silviu has only 5 days left before his release from the
juvenile detention centre. But 5 days becomes an eternity
when his mother returns from a long absence to take his
younger brother away. A brother whom he raised like
a son. Moreover, he has fallen in love with a beautiful
social worker. With time running out and his emotions
boiling over, Silviu closes his eyes... Freedom, the wind,
the road, his first kiss. Anything can happen to him now...
INTERVIEW WITH FLORIN SERBAN
How did the idea for the film come about?
˘ the author of the theater
˘ ˘
Catalin,
my co-screenwriter and Andreea Valean,
play IF I WANT TO WHISTLE, I WHISTLE, visited a re-education centre
˘ ˘
more than ten years ago. Andreea then wrote the play and Catalin
the
˘ ˘
first draft of the script. Two years ago, Catalin
sent it to me and asked
me if I wanted to work on it. I read it and couldn’t take my mind off it. I’ve
worked on the story for a year and a half. It went through a lot of changes
and countless drafts. But the crucial changes came when I first started
working with the boys from the penitentiary. During this time I started to
get to know them, to understand some of the reasons for their mistakes,
to finally understand how many of their actions had been influenced by
their families, the environment they come from and last but not least, by
all of us, the ones outside those prison walls.
Which elements of the film go back to the original play? What did you
add or change?
We had to change a lot to adapt from the original play to the medium of
film with its different restrictions and of course quite different audience.
The most important things that we kept were the spirit and attitude of the
inmates, the bold, uncompromising, somehow childish way of thinking
and jumping into action without caring too much for the consequences.
The determination of reaching a goal no matter what it takes to get there.
The title was kept from the original play, as well as the kidnapping of the
girl. We focused on Silviu. We considerably changed his character, he is
more human, more vulnerable than in the play and the reasons for his
actions are different. We fought to make him more sympathetic, more
likeable. We took away a sort of dreamlike feel that was surrounding
his escape. In fact we changed quite a few details, the character of the
mother and his younger brother were all additions, as is the motif of
his approaching release from prison. The dynamic inside the prison
hierarchy, Ursu’s character, we added more humanity and nuances to the
head of the penitentiary - and we also changed the ending.
How
did
you
work
with
the
nonprofessional actors who were real
convicts?
Working with the boys took more than
two months and it consisted of an acting
workshop held in two of the Minors’ and
Youth Penitentiaries in Romania: Craiova
and Tichilesti. First criteria for the selection
was their willingness to be part of the
project, then their seriousness. However,
even if I had only considered these two
aspects, I would have ended up with more
than a hundred boys.
The ones who were selected to act in
the film were the boys who proved to be
talented, serious, committed and who
didn’t have major misbehavior problems in
previous months.
I wasn’t expecting to find children so committed, so willing to
do something. Many are very clever and naturally sharp from
the years spent in prisons and orphanages. Some of them are
incredibly talented, some were born to be actors and I hope,
with all my heart, to be able to work with at least two of them on
my future projects. I’m even thinking about writing a screenplay
for one of them. Working with them has been a real joy and a
chance for great discovery. It was one of those experiences that
mark you forever. I hope these feelings are mutual.
The hardest challenge was to gain their trust. To make them realize that
I’m not using them or patronizing them, that I consider them normal
children who made mistakes. Some of them have done terrible things, but
I didn’t once judge them for this. They are being judged too fast. Things
change fundamentally the moment people start seeing them differently,
not just as a statement in a record or a tabloid article. Generally, these
children look at opportunities you offer them very differently than those
outside bars and they open their hearts, in a way other children will
never do. There’s no secret here, all you have to do is grant them the
respect that every human being deserves.
How did you choose your cast?
The casting for the lead role took seven months. I saw thousands of
photos, interviewed hundreds of boys. I saw young actors, acting
students, boys from different high schools, junior football teams,
casting agencies. He was hard to find because he had to fulfill more
requirements than normal: charisma, poise, intelligence, a strong
presence and a personality to match. He would then need the ability to
“close his eyes” and allow himself to be carried by his emotions. To act,
in other words. There were many boys who had one or more qualities,
but George was the only one who had them all. This part was his FIRST
attempt to act and I think that this was a great advantage. George has
a rarely seen freshness in his acting and this may also be due to the
fact that he is still “raw”. Were there disadvantages in this being his first
part? I don’t think so. I think he was very professional and he showed
a lot of strength and this is what the character needed. Since we both
found a way to communicate, things worked out well. There were times
at rehearsals and during the shooting when we thought we’d never get
through it, moments when we improvised within the screenplay limits.
George is now a first year student at the Theatre and Film School and I
can only hope he will perform as well from now on. The casting for the
girl’s part wasn’t a piece of cake either. Ada was initially requested for
another part (which was removed afterwards), she was tested for more
than 6 months. I worked differently with Ada, she has an electrifying
presence, a huge talent, strength and will to work.
INTERVIEW WITH FLORIN
SERBAN
si inabissano, lasciando scoperti i sassi dei greti asciutti, come deserti, acque
trattenute dalle dighe tra le gole delle montagne, una terra che trema e freme:
la natura che ti accerchia, pronta a riprendersi quello che le hai strappato o che
hai cercato di governare, pronta a rompere gli argini e a travolgerti in una notte
di tempesta. E a liberare la parte animale che è in te.
Come
in to
Shakespeare.
C’è unAmmaniti
“prima”, c’è
una notte
tempestosa
The
first
say it was Niccolò
himself;
To make
a film outeofc’è
hisun500“dopo”.
page novel with its multitude of surprising, tragic and comic characters, you have
Ci be
sono
treand
personaggi:
un out
re, so
padre-padrone,
un figlio-principe
to
brutal
be ready toc’è
leave
much. What is c’è
important
is to get to the
adolescente
e
c’è
un
“fool”,
un
matto,
un
buffone.
heart of the novel, to the father-son relationship that is the emotional life-blood
E, spesso,
i personaggi
Shakespeare
primo
atto siand
raccontano
pubblico,
of
the story,
to forego di
the
human and nel
social
tableau
focus onalthe
ancestral
nel
secondo
atto
naufragano
su
isole
deserte,
si
perdono
di
notte
in
boschi
dimension of this rapport: a wolf and his cub.
intricati o in lande desolate nel mezzo di una tempesta e, nel terzo atto, escono
trasformati
Unlike
“I’m da
Notquell’esperienza.
Scared”, which faithfully follows the novel it is based on, here we
Gli
adolescenti
e il betray
padre, the
dio,source
re, padrone
ai loro
had to cut, woundcrescono
and at times,
material.appare
There are
filmsocchi,
that, like
finalmente,
solo
come
un
uomo.
children, grow and little by little take on a life of their own. And when you choose
Anche
il padre
Rino,
il figliohalf
Cristiano
il fool
Quattroup
Formaggi,
si ritrovano
the
actors,
which
is already
of the ejob
of building
a character,
it is nicedi
then
notte,
in
un
bosco,
durante
una
tempesta…
to see them interpret the music you have written and, maybe, change it. That way,
you get an impression that it’s new. And you envisage perfectly well the locations
Rino,
Cristiano
e Quattro
Formaggi
sono
tre you
personaggi
tre persone
in
which
you want
to set your
film. But
then
arrive inscomodi,
a place, look
at the sky
che
non
vorremmo
incontrare,
tre
disgraziati
che
hanno
imboccato
la “cattiva
or the gravely bank of a river, and the story you want to tell just blooms,
it lights
strada”.
up,
it gains strength, even though that place is so different from the one you had
Definitivamente
soli, alla ricerca di una qualsiasi identità, magari, come nel
in
mind.
caso
di
Rino,
preconfezionata
e costruita
per giustificare
che
nasce
This film changed so many times
in our minds,
but one daylaitrabbia
grew up
and
looked
in
conflitti
scatenati
da
ragioni
economiche
o
che
nasconde
quel
senso
di
us straight in the eye, and we had to reckon with it.
disperazione che sempre più spesso abita questi anni in cui viviamo.
Ma, come canta
André: “C’è
amore
un po’ per
tutti e centres,
tutti quanti
hanno
un
Industrial
sheds,Defactories,
terrace
houses,
shopping
huge
sawmills,
amore
sulla
cattiva
strada”.
masses of trees cut down and piled tidily… But around, all around, the mountains
Abbiamo
dovuto woods,
camminare
al loro
Li abbiamo
osservati
con on
and
impenetrable
the river
levelsfianco.
that drop,
uncovering
the pebbles
comprensione,
a
volte
con
affetto,
anche
se
dicono
e
fanno
cose
spaventose.
the banks as dry as deserts, waters held back by the dams among the mountain
gorges, a land that trembles and shakes: nature surrounding you, ready to take
back what you have grasped from her or what you have tried to control, ready to
break its banks and overwhelm you one stormy night. And to set free the animal
that is in you.
Ho dovuto condividere questo amore tra Rino e suo figlio, questo amore assoluto,
totale
che invidio
e cheisnon
so se sarei
capace
di provare.
Its
likeeasbagliato,
Shakespeare
play. There
a “before”,
there
is a stormy
night and there
is an “after”. There are three characters: there is a king, a father-master, there is a
Rendere “leggera”
la parte
tecnologica.
Nonafar
sentireAnd,
agli attori
son-adolescent
prince
and there
is a “fool”,
buffoon.
often,la
inmacchina
the first act,
da
presa,
le
luci,
la
scenografia,
i
microfoni.
Dare
libertà.
Shakespeare’s characters tell the audience about themselves, in the second act
Nonshipwrecked
cercare altrion
punti
di islands,
vista seget
nonlost
quello
di un
osservatore
inor
mezzo
ai
are
desert
at night
in tangled
woods
in desolate
personaggi,
molto
vicino
a
loro.
Ad
altezza
d’uomo.
E’
solo
Dio
che
guarda
il
lands in the middle of a storm and, in the third act, come out of that experience
mondo
dall’alto.
Ma
dov’è
Dio
in
questa
landa
desolata?
transformed. The adolescents grow up and the father, god, king or master finally
Il film è girato
praticamente
la macchina
spalla,
con
gli the
appears
to their
eyes a meretutto
man.con
Also
the father,inRino,
themuovendoci
son Cristiano
and
attori,
spiandoli
senza
dare
loro
riferimenti
fissi.
fool, Quattro Formaggi, all end up in a wood one night, during a storm…
Li abbiamo
seguiti
la pioggia
o nel
ci siamo infilati
nellethree
loro people
risse o we
Rino,
Cristiano
and sotto
Quattro
Formaggi
arefango,
three awkward
characters,
nei
loro
abbracci,
senza
interromperli,
infradiciandoci
e
sporcandoci
con
would not like to meet, three wretches who are on the road to perdition. Aloneloro.
once and
Ci siamo
buttatiofaddosso
piùIndi
150.000
d’acqua
oltre alla
quella
for
all, in search
an identity.
the
case oflitri
Rino,
pre-prepared
andpioggia,
constructed
to justify
What is your next project?
I want to open an acting school, an acting class for people who never had
anything to do with acting before. The work with the inmates, both on the
set, but especially during the months of the acting workshop inside the
prison, affected me in many ways. It was a chance for me to dive into a
world that I had only heard of, it opened the doors of a belief that I had
only touched upon.
Working with non-professional actors gives you satisfaction on many
levels, both professional and spiritual. It’s a great challenge, the line
between success and failure is very thin, blurred, you can be charmed
by their innocence and fail as a director. However, I truly believe that
often with non-actors you can get fine performances and you can reach
grounds you can never reach with professionals, although naturally I
don’t believe non-professional actors are the choice for every role.
Getting to know the kids in the prison, I realized that what they lacked the
most was love and attention, year after year this translates into lack of
confidence. I think acting can help in this situation, and I tend to believe
it helped here.
For somebody who has only heard that they are good at nothing and less
than a dog in the street, it’s a HUGE thing to realize that he can engage
an audience with his simple presence, with one smile, one gesture and
that he can make 200 people laugh or shiver at once. This builds self
confidence and can bring a change. The idea of an acting school started
from this workshop. I truly believe that what happened with the inmates
can happen with normal, average people. Even more, much more than
that. I imagine a place where people can act out their inner demons and
explore places that can only be dreamed of. I deeply believe in acting as
a healing process. And I also hope this work will help me find talents for
my future projects, as the work with the young detainees did.
Who are your influences as a filmmaker?
I love Bresson and Almodovar. I am fascinated by N. B. Ceylan, Bruno
Dumont and Ken Loach. I can’t wait to get old and make movies like Ozu,
but in the meantime I want to make a movie like GLADIATOR.
FLORIN SERBAN
FILMOGRAPHY
2010
IF I WANT TO WHISTLE, I WHISTLE
Director
˘ ˘
Co-Writer with Catalin
Mitulescu
Awards: SARAJEVO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Work In Progress Award (2009), Cinelink Screenplay Award (2008)
EMIGRANT (medium feature - in post-production)
Director, Writer, Editor & Producer
2009
UNA Y OTRA VEZ by Antonio Mendez Esparza
Producer
Awards: Best Short at Los Angeles Film Festival 2009
Best Latinamerican Short Film 2009
2002
HALF OF THE CITY MAKES LOVE
WITH THE OTHER HALF (Short)
Director & Writer
2001
MECANO (Short)
Co-Director
Award: CINEMA IUBIT FILM FESTIVAL, BUCHAREST
JURY’S PRIZE
Born in Resita, Romania in 1975, Florin Serban studied Philosophy and
Hermeneutics and worked as a news reporter for various TV stations.
He graduated with a Master degree and then entered the film directing
program at the National University for Theater and Film, Romania.
During his film studies he wrote and directed short films, commercials,
and tv shows for the biggest Romanian commercial televison. Florin
Serban was then accepted into the Film Directing program at Columbia
University, NY, where he was awarded numerous scholarships and
fellowships and taught Theory and History of Film. He returned to
Romania to make IF I WANT TO WHISTLE, I WHISTLE.
˘ ˘
CATALIN
MITULESCU - Co-Writer & Producer
˘ ˘
Born in Bucharest, Romania in 1972, Catalin
Mitulescu studied geology
at the Bucharest University. He spent three years traveling and working
abroad in Austria, Hungary, Poland and Italy. Upon his return to Romania,
he enrolled in the film directing program at UNATC in Bucharest. Since his
graduation in 2000 he has been directing award winning short films like
TRAFFIC (Palme d’Or Cannes 2004), his debut feature THE WAY I SPENT
THE END OF THE WORLD (Un certain regard, Best Actress Award for
Dorotheea Petre, 2006), commercials and music videos. He has founded the
film production company STRADA FILM which has become, over the years,
one of the leading production companies on the Romanian film market.
GEORGE PISTEREANU
George is only 19. When the filming took place he was still
in high school. This is his first contact with the film industry.
George was meant to be a musician. He studied piano for a
long time and was part of the Opera’s children choir. He wanted
to study Canto, but a friend thought he would make a talented
actor and advised him to go to acting classes. He attended
the acting section at Dinu Lipatti High School, where he was
discovered by Florin Serban. Now a first year student at the
National University of Theatre and Film from Bucharest, George
is grateful for the chance he got: “It’s a great opportunity to
have your first performance as the main part in such a film”.
ADA CONDEESCU
Ada is 21 years old and currently studying acting at the
National University of Theatre and Film in Bucharest. She has
participated in many acting and choreography classes around
the world. She believes that growing up among artists, writers
and actors taught her to trust herself more – which was the
first step towards acting. Her work for this film changed her
perspective on prison and prisoners, as she got an unfiltered
insight on their lives and mentality. As for working with Florin
Serban, she is happy to have had such a strong but subtle
mentor, who allowed her to find her way and develop a complex
character.
CAST
Silviu
Ana
Mother
Director
The Brother
Ursu
Soare
Finu
Blondu
Psychologist
GEORGE PISTEREANU
ADA CONDEESCU
CLARA VODA˘
MIHAI CONSTANTIN
MARIAN BRATU
CHILIBAR PAPAN
MIHAI SVORISTEANU
ALEXANDRU MITITELU
CRISTIAN DUMITRU
˘
LAURENTIU BANESCU
CREW
Director
Producers
Co-Producers
Executive Producer
Associated Producers
Production Supervisor
Screenplay
Based on the play
Director of Photography
Editor
Sound
Production design
Costume Design
Casting
FLORIN SERBAN
˘ ˘
CATALIN
MITULESCU, DANIEL MITULESCU
FREDRIK ZANDER, TOMAS ESKILSSON
FLORENTINA ONEA
˘
VICTOR MAVRODINEANU, MARCIAN LAZAR
RUXANDRA SLOTEA
˘ ˘
CATALIN
MITULESCU, FLORIN SERBAN
˘
EU CAND
VREAU SA˘ FLUIER, FLUIER by
˘
ANDREEA VALEAN
MARIUS PANDURU
˘ ˘
CATALIN
F. CRISTUTIU, SORIN BAICAN
THOMAS HUHN, ANDREAS FRANCK,
˘ ˘
FLORIN TABACARU,
GELU COSTACHE
ANA IONECI
AUGUSTINA STANCIU
EMIL SLOTEA