BOX

Rafael is a 19-year-old Roma who spends his days at his grandfather Bunicul’s carwash. While working out at the gym, he is noticed by a very persuasive boxing trainer. Meanwhile, Christina, a 34-year-old actress and mother, is doing her best to rehearse her role in a Chekhov play. One night, while walking toward their respective practice sessions, the destinies of these two people, apparently worlds apart socially, meet. Their unlikely encounter is the foundation for all the psychological tension in this second feature by writer-director Florin Serban, whose film If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle won a shelf full of international awards. Filmed in 35 mm, Box is both a romantic comedy and a social drama about corruption, love and performance anxiety, with plenty of sharp irony in the mix. Starring the young actor Rafael Florea, a student at the acting school founded by Serban in Bucharest, making his film debut, the film won the FIPRESCI award at the last Karlovy Vary Festival.