Before starting university in Bucharest, 17-year-old Adi spends one last summer at home in the Romanian part of the Danube delta. When he becomes the victim of a brutal homophobic attack one night, everything suddenly changes. His parents take away his cell phone, lock him in his room and try to exorcise his “sin” with the help of the village priest. In this intense coming-of-age thriller, a teenager must overcome the resistance of family, church and state authority to finally be able to live freely.

Emanuel Pârvu not only exposes the homophobia that is still widespread in Romania, but also state corruption and religious fanaticism. A razor-sharp drama and a stirring film experience that was awarded the “Queer Palm” in Cannes and will be entered into the 2025 Oscar race for Romania.

Emanuel Pârvu, born in Romania in 1979, studied at the Romanian National University of Theater and Film Arts “Ion Luca Caragiale” and holds a master’s degree in acting and a doctorate in dramaturgy. He works as an actor as well as a film and theatre director and writer. He is known for his roles in Cristian Mungiu’s GRADUATION (2016) and TALES FROM THE GOLDEN AGE (2009). Before his feature-film debut MEDA OR THE NOT SO BRIGHT SIDE OF THINGS (2017), which premiered in the official competition of the Sarajevo International Film Festival and won the Best Director Award, he wrote and directed several short films.

Filmography (selection): 2017 MEDA OR THE NOT SO BRIGHT SIDE OF THINGS, 2021 MIKADO, 2024 THREE KILOMETERS TO THE END OF THE WORLD

Awards: Queer Palm (Cannes International Film Festival, France 2024), Award for Best Film (Sarajevo International Film Festival, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2024)