Romanian actress Alina Șerban (Housekeeping for Beginners, Alone at My Wedding, Gipsy Queen) is inviting us on a cinematic journey into the experience of being a Roma woman.
I Matter (Eu Contez), which she wrote and directed, is her feature directorial debut, and it will get its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival on Sept. 8.
The movie, featured in the Venice Spotlight section of the fest, looks to break new ground. After all, it is described as “the first film by a Roma woman to be selected for an A-list festival,” and it brings, as the press notes highlight, “an intimate and empowering first-person perspective to the screen” as a young woman “struggles to keep [two] worlds from colliding.”
Șerban draws on her own experience to explore identity and belonging from a Roma woman’s perspective.
“Through Rebeca’s eyes, I want to invite the audience into this world and to understand what it is like to live as a minority in a society where being ‘normal’ so often means being white and growing up in a family,” she shares in a director’s note. “As a Roma woman, I have faced many difficulties that have shaped the way I see the world, including poverty, discrimination and even eviction from my childhood home. Growing up, I was made to feel ashamed of being Roma. It took me years to let go of that shame and embrace my culture. But it took me even longer to speak freely about what spending part of my youth in a children’s home meant to me.”
So, what’s I Matter about? “As she stands on the verge of leaving the orphanage she called home, Rebeca, a young Roma girl, clings to the hope that her father’s release from prison will finally give her the family she has always longed for,” reads a synopsis. “When she is accepted into university to study acting, life finally seems to be opening up for her. But just as Rebeca begins to find her place in this new world, the life she comes from starts to catch up with her.”
‘I Matter’ poster, courtesy of Nona Catusanu and Alexandra Roceanu
In other words: Rebeca struggles to keep her two worlds from colliding. “But as those worlds begin to close in around her, she is forced to make choices she can no longer postpone and to find a new way forward.”
Denisa Farcaș stars in the movie, along with Sorin Mihai, Angelina Pavel, Vanessa Dancea, Raisa Mihai, Alexandru Stancu, Alina Berzunțeanu and Natalia Călin. Nona Cătușanu handled cinematography, with Letiția Ștefănescu editing the film.
I Matter is produced by Ada Solomon’s microFILM, 2PilotsFilmproduction, Frakas Productions in coproduction with ZDF – Das kleine Fernsehspiel in association with ARTE, Lemming Film Belgium, Avanpost Media, Orange & Be tv, Proximus, Shelter Prod, Romanian Television. Pluto Film is handling sales.
THR can now exclusively premiere a first-look clip from I Matter, plus the poster for the film (see above).
The scene from Șerban’s film stars Farcaș as Rebeca and Pavel in bed. It may be time to sleep, but they share dreams of a better future –before getting interrupted. Watch the exclusive clip from I Matter right here.