'La Civil' by Teodora Ana Mihai to run in Cannes Film Festival's Un Certain Regard

The film "La Civil" by Teodora Ana Mihai has been added to the official selection of the Cannes Film Festival 2021, Un Certain Regard section. "I am really happy with this Cannes selection. I am incredibly grateful that it was possible for me to tell this heartbreaking story of some families who lost their children to drug cartels (which still persist today)," says Mihai. The film tells the story of Cielo, a mother from Mexico who is looking for her daughter abducted by members of a drug cartel. As the authorities fail to help her, Cielo takes matters into her own hands and gradually turns from a housewife into a vengeful activist, according to the film's synopsis. "La Civil" was inspired by the terrifying stories of drugs cartel victims and their families, including the fascinating and tragic life of Miriam Rodriguez, which has been recently covered by the New York Times. The atmosphere in the film is reminiscent of the police series Narcos, but narrated from the point of view of the victim. The Mexican writer Habacuc Antonio De Rosario wrote the screenplay together with Teodora Mihai. The film is a co-production of Belgium (Menuetto Film), Romania and Mexico, with support from Eurimages, endorsed by well-known filmmakers such as the Dardenne brothers (Les films du Fleuve, Belgium), Cristian Mungiu (Mobra Films, Romania) and Michel Franco (Teorema, Mexico). The project was developed in collaboration with Cinefondation at the Cannes Film Festival and Torino Film Lab. The main financier of "La Civil" was the Audiovisual Fund of Flanders (VAF), with support from the Belgian Cinema and Audiovisual Centre, Romania's National Filmmaking Centre (CNC) and Eurimages - the European Cinema Support Fund. The premiere is expected this fall at the Les Films de Cannes festival in Bucharest, the 12th edition, October 22-31. AGERPRES (RO - author: Petronius Craiu, editor: Mihai Simionescu; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Cristina Zaharia)