One night, Camil wakes up without a penis. The nightmare continues when his partner also disappears after meeting a former lover. Camil sets out to find her and, wearing female clothes, joins a secret community dedicated to fertility, somewhere near a lake. And what he finds there will prove even more disturbing than his recent misadventures… Masculinity and gender roles are always at stake in Mammalia, and always in crisis. Shot on vivid 16mm, the film privileges fixed shots with movements within the frame, and the use of space is always very expressive. Whereas Its weird humor is reminiscent of Roy Andersson, it reminds us that Romania has its own tradition, that of Eugen Ionescu and The Theatre of the Absurd.
Mammalia
Mammalia
64th TIFF: Greek Premiere
Screening Schedule
No physical screenings scheduled. |
| Available at the Agora Market TIFF64. |
- Direction: Sebastian Mihăilescu
- Script: Andrei Epure, Sebastian Mihăilescu
- Cinematography: Barbu Balasoiu
- Editing: Catalin Cristutiu
- Sound: Dragos Dan Catarau, Maciej Pawlowski, Alin Zabrauteanu
- Music: Piotr Kurek
- Actors: István Téglás, Mãlina Manovici, Denisa Nicolae, Steliana Balacianu, Rolando Matsangos
- Producers: Ada Solomon, Diana Paroiu
- Co-producers: Nina Frese, Ewa Puszczyńska
- Costumes: Malgorzata Trzaskowska
- Production Design: Anca Lazar
- Sets: Gabriel Bucur, Cristian Gherman, Cosmin Istodor, Bogdan Miron, Sebastian Oancea, Adrian Paraschiv, Nicu Preda, Marian Pîrvu, Daniel Stroescu
- Make Up: Katrin Paas
- Format: DCP
- Color: Color
- Production Country: Romania, Poland, Germany
- Production Year: 2023
- Duration: 88'
- Contact: Lights On
Sebastian Mihăilescu
Having studied computer science in the past, Sebastian Mihăilescu is a writer, director, and producer from Romania. To further his interests in film directing, he went to the University of Theatre and Film in Bucharest. Mammalia (2023) is his debut feature film and has its Wolrd Premiere at Berlinale Forum. His feature-length documentary, You are Caucescu to Me (2021), won Best Film from Central and Eastern Europe and Best Cinematography at Ji.hlava IFF, the DocLisboa Festival's New Talent Award, and the Transilvania IFF's What's Up Doc Competition. His short film, Old, Luxurious Flat Located in an Ultra-Central, Desirable Neighborhood (2016), premiered in the Pardi di Domani Competition at the Locarno International Film Festival in 2016. Along with directing documentaries and features, Sebastian also helms commercials.
Filmography
2012 Titza (short)
2016 World Heritage (short)
2016 Old, Luxurious Flat Located in an Ultra-Central, Desirable Neighborhood(short)
2017 In no uncertain terms (short)
2021 Pentru mine tu esti Ceausescu (doc)
2023 Mammalia
2016 World Heritage (short)
2016 Old, Luxurious Flat Located in an Ultra-Central, Desirable Neighborhood(short)
2017 In no uncertain terms (short)
2021 Pentru mine tu esti Ceausescu (doc)
2023 Mammalia
