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Paradise Lula

Paradise Lula is a comedy film about Viorel’s life between Carolina and his unofficial wife Elena. Around him, and inside his life is the unwanted cousin Grigoras a smart guy that has gone crazy 20 years ago in the Venezuela’s jungle.
Viorel leaves home and goes to visit his lover Carolina, where he finds out that her mother had a stroke and is in the hospital, she ask of him to murder her and keep her money and run away together from all this shitty life in this small town. Viorel comes back home just in time for Elena to come back from work, where she finds Grigoras coming into the courtyard, she begins threatening him with murder and calling him a homeless and a creep, and chases him away. Very upset Elena tells Viorel that they are infected with hepatitis, and also that she is pregnant. Viorel is weary about the news, and is more interested in his food, than in the upsetting news.
Grigoras in his small trailer, tells us the story behind Viorel’s father death. How Viorel kinda killed him because he was no good.
At night, Carolina comes in the courtyard, very agitated, because her mother disappeared from the hospital. Viorel is very afraid, Elena is in the house. He tells her to go down on the street, he will come as well. On the street while Viorel tries to calm down Carolina, Grigoras appears and takes her away, through a fence, into the darkness.
Elena in the house is watching a tribal documentary. When Viorel enters the room, she tells him that she knows about Carolina. They have a fight, but they end up making love.
Next day, Grigoras decides to leave home and look for his luck in the world. He steals Viorel’s costume and all his hidden electronics and goes away.
Viorel has to go to the 1 year wake of his father dressed in the clothes with which he visited Carolina. Elena makes fun of him and his funny clothes.
They are a family no matter what good or bad happens, they fight through them all.

  • Andrei Stefanescu
    Director
  • Andrei Stefanescu
    Writer
  • Andrei Stefanescu
    Producer
  • Liviu Marghidan
    Producer
  • Dragos Olaru
    Key Cast
  • Ionut Achivoaie
    Key Cast
  • Valentina Popa
    Key Cast
  • Mihalea Alexandru
    Key Cast
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Paradise Lula
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 17 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 31, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Romania
  • Shooting Format:
    Alexa
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Andrei Stefanescu

Andrei was admitted in Film School UNATC in 2000 where, after a few exercises made his first film, a 15 minute documentary about people that die without having identity papers on them, and how the system treats them. After that he started working in cinema, as assistant director and script supervisor, thus being expelled from school. Traveled two years through Europe working various little jobs to eat and live.
Returned in Romania in 2008, a started a series of short experimental documentaries about life as it is, in an aerie key. Interior Skies, about a big lake without water inside Bucharest. Returning, about a revered trip during the night through little streets on Tibetan music. Triaj about train life and atmosphere on tracks. Minus about a very cold day in the winter, where everything was dreamlike and on the border of a very beautiful death.
Working again in Cinema, first as an extra then doing props and again script supervisor, writes screenplays for short and feature films, and in 2012 after completing a weird psychedelic script called Thraum, a fascinating and thrilling weird screenplay, finds people to make a simple no budget film called Sleep Awake and in the same year does a video performance film of 30 minutes called MENO, with dancers and Butoh dance in a ruin filled with plants and burned structures.
From 2013 to 2015 he looks for funds for his first feature film Linear A, and during this time he writes several other feature films, YCA, Apologia. And in 2015 he manages to make the film #Beings with the help of his friends, in Berlin.
Then begins looking for resources for the third film in the Trilogy of the Body – Sleep Awake, Beings, Obscur. But he fails.
From 2016 to 2018 he makes a few experimental films and video art - Alas, NYX, Left, Lament, Ambrosia - based more on the art performance area. All launched online and at small international exhibitions of performance art and video installation.
In 2020, with the help of Scharf Film, he manages to make the film Paradise Lula. His first project in a comic, surreal and absurdist genre. Bringing a style as that of Kaurismaki, as a film critic said, between comedy and tragedy, but with a lot of hope, love and humanity.

Feature Film Filmography (director):
"Paradise Lula" comedy 2022 - indepenedent
“#Beings” drama 2015 - independent
“Sleep Awake” drama 2012 - independent

Short Filmography (director):
“Alas” short experimental 2016 - independent
“MENO” video performance 2012 - independent
“ALCALIN” short experimental 2010 - independent
“Minus” documentary experimental 2010 - independent
“Interiour Skies” documentary experimental 2008 - independent
“No Man’s Land” documentary experimental 2008 - independent
“Returning” documentary experimental 2008 - independent
“Acts” documentary experimental 2008 - independent
“Neidentificat” documentary short 2003 – UNATC film school

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