A key element of Ruxandra Zenide’s films are strong emotions and the mysterious complexity of human life. With seven films in her filmography to date, she’s now putting together ideas for her third feature film. Find out how the filmmaker behind “The Miracle of Tekir” beat the financial odds to build her very own filmmaking “miracle”.
“Watching John Cassavetes film “Faces” I realized that film can be a subtle art where strong emotions can emerge through a deep understanding of the human nature. You can share with others stories that can inspire and improve the spectator’s life.”
Ruxandra’s inspiration
Inspiration always come from our own life story, sensitivity and encounters. For me the places where I decide to set my films have always played an important part. But at the core of every film story there is a single and strong emotion that needs to be shared.
Ruxandra’s first filmmaking steps
I’ve graduated at the Institute HEI (Hautes Études Internationales) in Geneva and subsequently studied film directing at New York University and at FAMU (Filmová a Televizní fakulata Akademie múzických umení), Prague.
Ruxandra’s biggest adversity
I worked for 7 years on a screenplay that finally did not receive any finance. But I was fortunate enough to overcome this situation and continue on my path.
Ruxandra’s current film
My current movie, ” The Miracle of Tekir “, is about an encounter of two women. At first glimpse everything pits them both against another: one is rich and comes from a western culture of rationality, the other one is poor, comes from a remote village and has a strong faith in the inexplicable. But the poor women has something that the rich would give anything to have….
Ruxandra‘s festival strategy
When it comes to festival strategy I rely on my producer and distributor. This is ultimately their task and they know how to carry it out.
Ruxandra‘s festival memories
In my entire career, I personally attended around 50. The films were screened in many others. The best part is meeting the audience and feeling the effect of the movie on the people. However, when your film starts its own life it gets further away from your own. The distance starts to grow and it seems more and more like someone else could have made it…
I enjoyed most of the festivals. At many, the staff have been so nice and treated me with care and attention. I have a particularly good memory of the Sarajevo Film Festival for instance.
Take a look at the list of the festivals that “Miracolul din Tekir” (The Miracle of Tekir) has screened at. This might give you some inspiration for your next festival strategy:
- 4th Frankofoni Festival de la Francophonie, March 2016, Oslo, Norway 2016
- 51st Solothurner Filmtage, Jan 2016, Solothurn, Switzerland 2016 Nominated for Prix du Public
- 11th Zurich International Film Festival, Sept-Oct 2015, Zurich, Switzerland 2015 Winner of Emerging Swiss Talent Award
- 30th Festival International de Films de Fribourg, March 2016, Fribourg, Switzerland 2016
31st Guadalajara Film Festival, March 2016, Guadalajara, Mexico 2016 - 23rd Prague International Film Festival – Febiofest, March 2016, Prague, Czech Republic 2016
- 20th Sofia International Film Festival, March 2016, Sofia, Bulgaria 20
- 61st Cork Film Festival, Cork, Ireland 2016
- Calgary International film festival 2016
- 66th Heidelberg International Film Festival 2016
