The Way I Spent the End of the World
Encyclopedia
The Way I Spent the End of the World is the feature-length film debut of Romanian director Cătălin Mitulescu
. It was released on September 15, 2006.
during the final years of the communist regime of Nicolae Ceauşescu
. After Eva is expelled from her high school for her uncooperative attitude, she is sent to a technical school where she meets Andrei, with whom she plans to escape communist Romania
by swimming across the Danube
into Yugoslavia
and relocating to Italy
. Lilu and his friends, meanwhile, volunteer for a children's choir scheduled to sing for Ceauşescu, hoping this will give them a chance to assassinate the dictator.
Catalin Mitulescu
Cătălin Mitulescu is a Romanian film director. He graduated from the UNATC in Bucharest in 2001.He is best known for the short film Trafic , which won him the Short Film Palme d'Or at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and for the debut feature The Way I Spent the End of the World , which was screened...
. It was released on September 15, 2006.
Synopsis
The film is about 17 year old Eva and 7 year old Lilu, a sister and brother living in BucharestBucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
during the final years of the communist regime of Nicolae Ceauşescu
Nicolae Ceausescu
Nicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian Communist politician. He was General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and as such was the country's second and last Communist leader...
. After Eva is expelled from her high school for her uncooperative attitude, she is sent to a technical school where she meets Andrei, with whom she plans to escape communist Romania
Communist Romania
Communist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the dominant role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...
by swimming across the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
into Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
and relocating to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Lilu and his friends, meanwhile, volunteer for a children's choir scheduled to sing for Ceauşescu, hoping this will give them a chance to assassinate the dictator.
The Matei family
- Dorotheea PetreDorotheea PetreDorotheea Petre is a Romanian actress who won a special jury award for best actress at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006.-Early life:...
as Eva Matei - Timotei Duma as Lalalilu Matei
- Carmen Ungureanu as Maria Matei
- Mircea Diaconu as Grigore Matei
- Jean ConstantinJean ConstantinJean Constantin was a well known Romanian comedianof Greek ethnicity.Constantin was born in Techirghiol and died in Constanţa.-Filmography:*Poker *Supravieţuitorul .... Limba*Roming ......
as Uncle Florică
Eva's friends
- Cristian Văraru as Andrei, Eva's friend
- Ionuţ Becheru as Alexandru Vomică, Eva's boyfriend
Others
- Valentin Popescu as the music teacher
- Grigore Gonta as Ceauşică
- Florin Zamfirescu as the school director
- Corneliu Ţigancu as Bulba
- Nicolae Enache Praida as Titi
Awards
- Dorotheea Petre - Premiul de interpretare feminină (Feminine interpretation award)
- Dorotheea Petre - Un Certain RegardUn Certain RegardUn Certain Regard is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's Official Selection. It is run at the Salle Debussy, parallel to the competition for the Palme d'Or.This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob...
Award for Best Actress, 2006 Cannes Film Festival2006 Cannes Film FestivalThe 2006 Cannes Film Festival ran from May 17, 2006 to May 28, 2006. Twenty films from eleven countries were in competition for the Palme d'Or. The President of the Official Jury was Wong Kar-wai, the first Chinese director to preside over the jury....
Alternative titles
- Comment j'ai fêté la fin du monde (French title)
- How I Celebrated the End of the World (alternative translation)