Project “West Romania Film Center”

Reschitza/Temeswar/Arad – Adrian Mitchell, Director of the Oslo Film Commission and Anund Austena, Director of the Regional Film Center of Viken/Norway, visited western Romania last week with the aim of exploring the region’s potential as a film setting and also holding discussions with the aim of stimulating the interest of the Regional politicians to explore western Romania as a future film location. They are interested in feature and series film productions. Their interest was mainly in the Banat mountains.
Mitchell and Austena had discussions with the mayors Dominic Fritz (Temisoara), Călin Bibarț (Arad) and Ioan Popa (Reschitza), as well as with the district council presidents Alin Nica (Temisoara) and Romeo Dunca (Karasch-Severin). Dunca, who had to make several helicopter transports to the “ladder village” of Inele in the Cerna Mountains in those days, invited the two Norwegians to fly with him, but on the condition that they help him with loading and unloading the transport gondola with building materials attached to the helicopter that he wanted to bring up to Ineleț. The two Norwegians took the place of two workers in the helicopter who would otherwise have flown with Dunca.

Mitchell and Austena initially thought it was a hidden camera joke, but they went along with it and convinced themselves that Dunca was also capable of such helpful gestures. To “compensate” for the help, Dunca flew the two Norwegians over different routes of the Banat mountains on the return flights – he had to make several transports – so they could view them from above. In the eyes of the two Norwegians, the aid campaign for Ineleț could be perfectly combined with the search for suitable film locations.

“It was really hypnotic, the landscape, the people, the food, the whole atmosphere, the unique nature,” said Adrian Mitchell. Dunca: “The team from Norway came to Romania to identify filming locations, to look for collaboration, with companies, with people. They produce films. I wanted to show them how great the Banat mountains can be as a film backdrop. You can shoot all kinds of films here. A suitable filming location can be found here for every film. And since I had planned the relief operation anyway in the village that hangs in the clouds, with its residents who lead the simplest lives, I took them both with me on the condition that they would lend a hand. After some initial hesitation, they came along and I think they were impressed. I think the idea of ​​shooting all kinds of films in the Banater Bergland is excellent. Here you can still do a lot with little money.”

The Timișoara documentary filmmaker Florin Iepan and his association Documentar have long been planning to found a film center in western Romania. Viken Filmcenter is a role model for them. Documentar is supposed to work in a similar way, which is why Iepan had extensive discussions with Mitchell and Austena.