The debut feature film drama LEMONADE, written and directed by Romanian filmmaker Ioana Uricaru, is starting a 32-day shoot on June 8, in Montreal, Canada.
The film is lead produced for Mobra Films (Romania) by Cristian Mungiu, President of the Cinéfondation and Short Films Jury of the 70th Cannes Film Festival, in co-production with Christoph Kukula and Eike Goreczka for 42film (Germany), Yanick Létourneau for Peripheria Productions (Canada) and Sean Wheelan and Tomas Eskilsson for Film I Vast and Filmgate Films (Sweden). World sales rights are handled by Pluto Film while Mongrel International is handling US sales rights. Mongrel also distributes in Canada, while Metropole will be distributing in Quebec. Voodoo Films has acquired distribution rights for Romania, and déjà-vu film for Germany.
Mara, a Romanian single mother of 30 years old, marries Daniel (an American), while being in the US for a temporary job as a nurse. When the path towards getting her green card takes an unexpected turn, Mara is forced to confront the truth that the real America has no resemblance to the one in her dreams.
LEMONADE deals with the very actual topic of migration in the context of the stereotypes and clichés we all use about cultures that we actually don’t know well. The lead role of Mara will be played by Malina Manovici (from Mungiu's Graduation).
Ioana Uricaru and Cristian Mungiu have been collaborating for years: Ioana co-directed the collective episodic film TALES FROM THE GOLDEN AGE (Mobra Films, 2009) and the short STOPOVER (Mobra Films, 2010). The first premiered in Un Certain Regard in Cannes, 2009 and the latter in the Official Selection of Sundance Film Festival, 2011. It is a natural step that Mungiu produces her first feature debut.
Ioana Uricaru and Cristian Mungiu
Cristian Mungiu: I’ve known Ioana since 1994, when we started together at the film school in Bucharest. We wrote together a screenplay which brought us our first professional trip to LA in 2000. We drew different conclusions from that visit: I got back and continued as a filmmaker in Romania while Ioana moved to the US, graduated film at USC and got a doctor’s degree in cinema. Despite the distance, our passionate conversations about cinema stayed as vivid as 20 years ago.
Palme d'Or winner Cristian Mungiu will be available for interviews in Cannes between May 22-29. The producers Yanick Létourneau and Eike Goreczka will also be available for interviews in Cannes. Please contact mm filmpresse to set up a time slot.
The film is supported by the Romanian National Cinema Center, MDM Germany, Eurimages, QUÉBEC Film & Television Tax Credits – Gestion SODEC, Media Programme, CANADA Film & Television Tax Credit program.
The film will be completed January 2018.
Please contact mm filmpresse in case you have any questions: Sylvia Müller, Tel. +49 (0)30 – 41 71 57 22, e-mail: mueller@mm-filmpresse.de and Claudia Rox, Tel. +49 (0)30 – 41 71 57 23, e-mail: rox@mm-filmpresse.de.