Ana and Tudor are two (very) young actors. who had their debut in feature film in the latest production directed by Emanuel Pârvu – Mikado/Marocco, which premiered at San Sebastian in 2021. I was there, in the screening room, and I remember people applauding them for 15 minutes at the end of the screening. I appreciated a lot Ana’s talent – at only 20 years old, her acting is strong. She’s still a student in the second year of university, in Timisoara.

Older than her with five year, Tudor isn’t at his first rodeo. Even though he hasn’t starred in other films yet, he’s a stage actor at Stela Popescu theatre from Bucharest, and was nominated at Uniter Gala Awards this year for a role he plays. He’s also starred in a TV show and he’s already a retired sportsman.

We met on a sunny afternoon at a studio next to the Press House in Bucharest, where Ruxandra decided to dress them in bright colors and Sabina photographed them at sunset. You can find out how it went below.

You are both very young, at the beginning of your career, and Marocco marks your debut in film. How did you meet Emanuel Pârvu?

Tudor: I met Emanuel in film school, I went to an audition for a play directed and written by him – Spovedania (Confession). We rehearsed for two months, during which we got along great, I felt that we were on the same page. But working together on Marocco, it was a completely different kind of collaboration, there was no longer the invisible barrier between student and teacher, we were already friends and I didn’t feel like a newbie anymore.

Ana: I found out about the casting from a former high school acting teacher, who recommended that I send an audition video. Which I did and I was called to the casting, where I met Emi and Miruna, the producer of the film. I bonded with Emanuel during rehearsals – we had a long rehearsal period. He is very kind and honest, which made me feel comfortable both during rehearsals and on set. We still keep in touch, we talk on the phone every now and then, he knows how I’m doing in film school.

There’s a note at the beginning on the film that says “to my father”. Did Emanuel ever talk to you about his father before or during shootings?

Ana: Not really. He would sometimes bring it up in rehearsals but I don’t think he was very keen to talk about it.

Tudor: We often talked about his relationship with his father. We even spoke on that day. It is an example of love I hope to be capable of one day. Emanuel’s love for his family is incredible, but not just for his family, for people in general – I remember one time we were on the street and in front of us there was a man who had fallen. We immediately stopped, called the ambulance, and stayed until they came. He always shows such empathy.

At the beginning of the film, when your character, Magda, is confronted by her father, who suspects her of selling the gift from him, she acts very cold and distant. Although she has done nothing wrong, she doesn’t look her father in the eyes and maintains this impassive front throughout the entire film. How would you justify her attitude?

I believe their broken relationship is deep-rooted. I think it has to do with the death of her mother, who she was very close to. Then again, in general (not just in the film) girls’ relationships with their fathers are difficult, especially in their teens. Personally, I’m glad my dad let me do what I wanted to do; he didn’t push me to go into acting, I had the freedom to choose and follow my dream and I’m grateful for that.

Magda is very strong, I admire that about her. Although she is at a very young age, she exudes confidence and I’m sure that she would have become a successful woman. All her actions, her behavior, are a result of the way she is and what she experienced (her mother’s death). I came to understand her every gesture; whether right or wrong, I can’t judge her.

What do you think Magda detests most about her father?

His patronizing attitude towards her, which doesn’t help their communication. He is unable to understand her. There is a wall between them and even if she has tried to get through to him, she never could.

But for you, what is the most important thing you need in your relationship with your parents?

Tudor: Space and understanding.

Ana: Yes, understanding – and also support.

Tudor, I know you trained to be an athlete, you also flirted with music, and somehow, you ended up being an actor. In Marocco, we can also see you performing as a magician, without any stunt double. Did you learn the magic tricks during rehearsals or did you already know them?

I didn’t know them, I had to practice a lot; practice and repetition are essential for mastery. Especially when it comes to card tricks where you need to learn those specific hand moves. I come from a family where success has been achieved through a lot of dedication and work – it’s the same in sports, which develops you in a healthy way, and I practiced performance sports for years. So I already had a successful career before starting acting.

In the film, you play Magda’s boyfriend, but you come from very different backgrounds – you portray a middle-class and well-bred young man, who works day and night to support himself, while Magda comes from a privileged family and, although she lost her mother, doesn’t have to worry about making ends meet. What connects you as a couple and why do you think you can’t find a way to stay together?

I don’t think I ever tried to answer that question, not even during rehearsals. I find it to be a more or less natural outcome of how the story evolves. In the film, we see too little of their relationship, of how they are as a couple before the accident. From that moment though, my relationship with Magda is no longer in focus, it remains in the background. In fact, I think that my relationship with her father ends up being more important and it’s the one that solves my relationship with her. Maybe even the one with myself. I think Iulian has a momentary lapse of reason.

Do you have any memorable moments from the set?

Tudor: Vlad Brumaru and I have known each other for a long time, but we became friends while working on this film. We have a scene where I become very violent, I was after several hours of shooting, which were extremely difficult and I was emotionally charged, and Vlad was always by my side – not only by my character’s side but also by my side, Tudor. Right after the last take, when they called “cut, moving on”, I couldn’t help myself. I hugged him and stayed like that for a few good seconds, it was a special moment for me and I think it bonded us. I think we will always be friends.

Ana: That’s sweet. For me there were many moments, especially funny ones – Şerban Pavlu is very funny and I had a great time working with him. I remember a scene in the car, where I had to yell and curse at him, but we also had to get to a certain spot on the street before losing my temper. My biggest worry was yelling at Şerban Pavlu. I felt extremely uncomfortable, which is why I apologized at the end, and Şerban gave me a hug. Such a nice gesture.

What did this opportunity mean to you? You worked with well-known and very talented actors, I’m sure it was a great learning experience, professionally speaking.

Ana: I never thought that I would get the part when I went to audition for it. It’s my first major project and I’m very grateful to have had this chance at such a young age. It’s been like a rollercoaster – we went to a lot of festivals, did interviews, and had photo shoots, we were so busy with the film that everything is still so vivid to me as if the shooting was only a month ago.

Tudor: Even if it all feels like yesterday, I don’t think I could play now what I played two years ago. The whole shooting involved an effort to rationalize and understand life situations that I hadn’t lived before and which I experienced for a few takes. But luckily we had Emanuel Pârvu to guide us. Working on such a project made me understand a bit differently everything I thought I understood about acting, especially film acting.

Marocco/Mikado is now playing in Romanian cinemas.

Laura Mușat

Film producer and founder of ADFR, she dreamed since she was little of having a magazine one day. Alongside her job as editor-in-chief, she writes the interview of the month. She loves animals, jazz music and films festivals.