Who was Paul Negoescu before becoming a director?
I think “before starting directing films” would be more appropriate than “before becoming a director”. Before starting directing films I was a student at the National Film School. I was really young and I remember i did not care much about things around me. I had a very limited horizon and i was feeling very comfortable with it.
Why did you choose this story for your debut film?
I do not remember exactly. It was in a moment when I was ending a short relationship and was finding myself in a very confused position. My sister just had a baby and found her peace because of that. Me, instead, I was in a constant and conscious pursuing of happiness. And I noticed that most people my age share my same condition. The idea of a New Year Eve’s party came because people have a lot of expectations from a New Year Eve’s party, as they believe they will enjoy that party more than a normal one - and this looks like a pursuing of happiness as well.
How was working for the first time on a feature length film?
It was easier than I thought, although I remember that there were moments when I was scared to go shooting. But everybody from the team did his job very well, so I started feeling more and more reassured day by day.
How was the experience on the set? (Most satisfying and more difficult moment?)
It was a pleasant atmosphere on the set, similar to a shooting for a student film, because we were all very young. Actually, there were days when we did not even have any approval papers that would allow us to shoot in public locations, because everybody believed we were a student production.
The most satisfying and the most difficult moments coincide: the last day of shooting, that was rescheduled due to some heavy snow that fell on Bucharest. Most of the team members, including actors, were supposed to start other projects so we had to finish the shooting on that precise day. We put a lot of efforts to remove the snow from the exterior locations, including the trees and houses around, but right when we were ready to shoot, it started to snow again. Finally, after a couple of hours, it stopped, we cleaned the set again and we continued the shooting.
At the moment, do you have any idea for future projects?
At the moment I am preparing a short film that will be shot in Sarajevo, which is part of a trilogy about water I started with my previous short film, Horizon.
Which is the image of contemporary Romania you want to convey in your film?
I tried to say something about the life I know, about Romania I know, I did not try to show a reality wrapped in a fake and embellished package. It is probably different from the image most foreigners have of my country, because foreigners only know about it from the news. I have to admit also that there are not good news about Romania very often, but this only proves that we are a normal country, with all kind of social categories.
Feelings and sentimental relationships appear to be as the only ground on which the young characters of your film are able to challenge themselves, take decisions and limit their uncertainty. Do you see "O Luna in Thailanda" as generational portrait of contemporary Romanian youth?
The characters in this film come from a good social background, so they do not lack elementary needs such as food, homes, jobs, and such. They only lack the capacity of listening and following their emotions. I would like to think it is a portrait of contemporary Romanian youth, but I cannot say that it is for sure. I have to get some feedback from the Romanian audience to make my opinion about this.
30.08 — 09.09