The Phantom Father, directed by Lucian Georgescu, was selected in the official competition for debut features at the 28th edition of the Mons International Love Film Festival (24th of February to 2nd of March, 2012), one of the most important thematic festivals in the world, self-described as a "window opened towards a brave and original cinema which rejects overused romantic clichés". Since its first edition onward, the Mons International Love Film Festival has treated the Belgian audience to an impressive number of films uniting the so-called intellectual cinema with the more popular cinema and has received several hundreds of international cinema personalities such as Maria de Medeiros, Joaquim de Almeida, Emilie Dequenne, Gaspard Ulliel, Claude Lelouch, Andrzej Zulawski, Nathalie Baye, Audrey Tautou, Marion Cotillard, Jeanne Moreau, Charlotte Rampling, John Madden, Lauren Bacall, Valéria Golino, Josiane Balasko, Gérard Darmon, Gérard Jugnot, Patrick Bruel, etc.

A return-to-origin road-movie, The Phantom Father used as a starting point the short story "Almost Oriental" of American writer Barry Gifford ("Wild at Heart", "Lost Highway", "Perdita Durango") who also has a cameo in the film. A bitter sweet comedy, the film tells a double love story: on one hand, the one between American professor, Robert Traum (Marcel Iureş, in a role equally impressive and unprecedented), back in the home land of his father and uncle – the latter, a famous novelist, and the former, a gangster from Chicago – and Tania (Mihaela Sîrbu, whose acting was appreciated by Variety as a "formidable debut") and, on the other hand, the love for old cinema, nomad, popular, naive and generous. A tender and nostalgic homage brought to a past era, Tthe Phantom Father combines stylistically the postmodern and classical cinema, assisted by the Liviu Mărghidan's photography as well as by the original soundtrack by Johannes Malfatti, which joins classic hits such as Supertramp's Breakfast in America.

Along with Marcel Iureş and Mihaela Sîrbu, the film also features Valer Delakeza, Mihai Constantin, Mimi Brănescu, Victor Rebengiuc, Mariana Mihuţ, Nicodim Ungureanu, Vitalie Bantas, Marcello Cobzariu and Mirela Oprişor.

The Phantom Father marks the debut in feature film of Lucian Georgescu, writer, producer, film critic (Member of FIPRESCI), lecturer at the National University of Theatrical Arts and Cinematography in Bucharest. The movie had an extraordinary preview screening during this year's edition of Transylvania International Film Festival and was selected in the official competitive sections of the Montreal and Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festivals.

The Phantom Father is distributed in Romania by Transilvania Film, and it will be released this this spring.

Back to news