Awarded at Cannes, the European Film Academy Awards, and nominated for the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Sentimental Value), Renate Reinsve is currently one of the most acclaimed actresses in the world.

We met her in Norway, her homeland, during the filming of  Fjord, Cristian Mungiu’s first film shot abroad, with a mixed crew, made up of various nationalities. Renate plays Lisbet Gheorghiu, the wife of Mihai Gheorghiu, portrayed by Sebastian Stan.

Renate was deeply convinced by Mungiu’s screenplay, inspired by the real case of the Bodnariu family, whose children were taken by Norway’s child protection services after the parents were accused of child abuse.

In this, her only interview given so far to the Romanian press, Renate talks to Cultura la dubă about her experience working with Cristian Mungiu, and about interacting with the Romanian crew — “Honestly, I think Romanians are among the kindest people I have ever met. They are so nice, even if they argue a lot on set, haha,” Renate says with a smile.

Filming took place in the heart of a Norwegian fjord, in the remote mountains, where the actress recounts strange experiences, staying in a luxury hotel said to be haunted. “I think ghosts are something natural because this is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to, and if I were a ghost, I wouldn’t return to a city. I would come here.”

Fjord will have its world premiere on May 18 in the official competition of the Cannes Film Festival and is one of the most anticipated films of this edition.

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Renate, first of all, tell us, please, how did you meet Cristian Mungiu?

Well, I first heard about this project from a production company I had worked with many times before, called Eye Eye Pictures from Norway. They produced The Worst Person in the World, Sentimental Value, and Armand, in which I acted. Cristian had seen The Worst Person in the World, Armand, and the film I made with Sebastian Stan, A Different Man. I knew he was very inspired by this story from Norway.

He wanted to meet me in the production company office to talk about the role. I read the script, and I think I had to stop reading four times because I was so moved — it’s so painful what these characters went through! And the way Cristian writes probably relates to his past as a journalist.

I think his greatest talent is seeking objectivity within subjectivity. Of course, there is a very emotional story, but his way of always trying to remain faithful to the story’s objectivity and then making it as nuanced as possible is truly impressive.

So, when I read the script, I connected a lot with the entire story, but especially with the character Lisbet. There was actually another role in the script named Mia, which might have suited me better. Lisbet’s role is very atypical—I had never done anything like this before, but still felt a strong connection to her. I didn’t know how to interpret her.

But I think Lisbet came to life during filming because of the script, Cristian’s working method, and the way I work. I didn’t really decide anything. And Cristian doesn’t like to talk about the character’s intentions or judge the characters.

It feels like a different way of working, really.  So I was very surprised by what this character became.

I still haven’t seen the film. But it feels like, maybe for the first time, I don’t really have control over her. She reveals herself in a different voice. She looks very different. She behaves very differently. But I really love her. I really love her. This was actually my second favorite shoot.

What was the first one?

The first was The Worst Person in the World. It will always be at the top of my list. That place was so special, and it was my first lead role in a film, which was magical!

How did you find Cristian Mungiu’s working style on set, with many takes and complex mise-en-scenes?

Yes, it’s very complex. It was a shock for me because, unfortunately, due to scheduling, I started with the most difficult scenes for my character. I hadn’t learned this method yet, so it was a shock. I wish I had more time to understand his method, because you can’t intellectually understand it, you have to truly feel it, learn it bit by bit, and notice subtle signs in his process to know exactly what to do.

It’s impossible for an actor to maintain the character’s truthfulness through so many takes. His way of working is poetic, using physicality on stage, in the mise-en-scène. And he’s skilled in how he does that. I have great respect for how he does it and tries to find the best way.

It takes time to learn to be honest within the framework he builds—not the physical frame, but the structure in which he makes his films.

Were you familiar with some of his films or other Romanian directors’ works before collaborating?

I’ve seen Beyond the Hills, which is, of course, a masterpiece. I haven’t seen them all, but now I’m obviously familiar with his work. It’s very impressive and moving to have the chance to talk with him, understand his filmmaking values, and I’ve learned so much!

I think it will affect my work going forward, absolutely, because the standard is higher now—a very high standard.

You also must trust the story because in this working style, you don’t help the audience or show something specific or help Cristian. It’s truly an attempt to be honest with the situation.

I really like working with strong directors who know exactly what they want. It’s easier to navigate as an actor in that context. I really enjoy working in Europe.

How was working with the other Romanians on the team?

It was amazing. I feel everyone is very connected to Cristian’s vision. Honestly, I think Romanians are some of the kindest people I’ve met. They are so sweet, even if they argue a lot on set, haha. Anyway, I think actors are very protected from conflicts, so I don’t know everything, but I really feel Romanians have big hearts.

Do you think the tone and atmosphere on set come from the director’s manner?

Definitely. Everyone here is influenced by Cristian’s way of being—so generous, kind, welcoming. He truly loves films, truly loves the people on set, and respects them, and the energy he brings influences how we all are together.

We stay together in this special place, see each other all the time, it’s like a camp.

Speaking of this place, did you know it before? Have you traveled here?

No, no, no. Even people who travel a lot in Norway, who I talked to, had never heard of this place. It was impressive for me to discover it too.

But were you aware of the Romanian family’s story, which inspired the film, from Norwegian media? In Romania, it was heavily covered, with street protests.

I’ve heard about it, yes. Some people here have heard of the case, but I wasn’t familiar with the news. Of course, I’ve heard stories about child social services, both the good and the bad. I think the way Cristian uses this story to talk about something more universal draws a line between existential things happening within each of us and how society perceives them. I believe he uses this story to say even more about life and coexistence.

It also highlights how hard it is to truly understand another culture.

We did a lot of research together. Cristian invited us to Romania. I really tried to understand the history that marked Romania, especially Bucharest, where we went.

I tried to get to know these people and learn the language. But even when you try hard and intensely, there will always be parts you will never understand. That’s how conflicts arise in our society.

I think this film will also offer the chance to show how difficult it is to understand our differences, and if you can look at someone kindly, even if they are unknown or scary, you’ll find a better resolution to conflict. It makes you aware of how many prejudices people have—and yourself. It’s so important to be aware of these things.

We witnessed a very sweet scene at the end of a filming day when you and some fellow actresses gave Cristian a gift. He seemed touched. What bird did that sculpture represent and what was the message behind the gift?

It relates to the mystery of this place where we filmed because many of us had experiences here with possible ghosts and strange experiences with birds.

It’s hard to explain. When Cristian first came here, he had his first encounter with this bird, which also represented the first Norwegian word he learned, “skarv,” the name of the bird.

So, we gave him that gift so he could have it with him, take it home, and hang it on his wall.

What about the ghosts here? Are these legends, jokes, or do you really believe in their existence?

I think they are natural because this is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to, and if I were a ghost, I wouldn’t return to a city. I’d come here. If I die, I’d come here. So, I think it’s natural there are many ghosts here. Hahaha.

There are myths and stories about this hotel and who haunts it. Some people claim they’ve actually seen them, even though I don’t believe in that stuff. Still, something happened to me here that I can’t explain.

When things happen, you try to find a logical reason. But things happened here that you can’t explain rationally. I think this whole story contributes to the magical experience of filming.

Your unexplainable experience was it pleasant or scary?

A bit scary, but I don’t think ghosts want to be nasty. I think they are a little cheeky but nice. (she laughs)

***

The post INTERVIEW Renate Reinsve: “Working with Cristian Mungiu will affect my future work because the standard is now higher, very high.” appeared first on Cultura la dubă.

RO version

From one year to the next, Anamaria Vartolomei takes on increasingly complex and diverse roles, works with world-renowned filmmakers, and enriches her list of awards.

A constant presence at major film festivals that celebrate auteur cinema—Cannes, Berlin, or Venice—the 26-year-old French-Romanian actress already has an impressive filmography and a César, the French equivalent of the Oscar.

She was born on April 9, 1999, in Bacău, but grew up in the village of Plopu, near the town of Dărmănești. When she was just 2 years old, her parents left to work in France, and she remained in the care of her grandparents. At 6, she left her village childhood behind and arrived directly in Paris to join her family.

We met again now, in the French capital, 4 years after our first feature story. I understood that beyond her obvious talent and beauty, the less visible qualities upon which she has built a successful career have more to do with a precocious maturity and faithfulness to her own values.

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Anamaria Vartolomei began acting at just 10 years old in the film My Little Princess, directed by Eva Ionesco, a French director of Romanian origin. Her on-screen partner was none other than actress Isabelle Huppert, and the film premiered at Cannes in the Semaine de la Critique section.

For her role, she was nominated in 2012 for the Lumière Awards in the most promising young actress category. In 2021, she won the Lumière Award for Best Actress and the César Award for Most Promising Actress for the film L’Événement (Happening), directed by Audrey Diwan, which won the Golden Lion at Venice.

L’Événement (2021) is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by writer Annie Ernaux (winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2022), regarding her experience with an abortion when it was illegal in 1960s France. This was her first leading role.

“L’Événement, I think, remains, in a way, my business card. It’s the film that traveled the most, and in the United States, it was distributed right when Texas was banning abortion, so it had a much greater impact than we imagined.”

After that, I received many offers, especially many related to abortion. In France, there’s a problem with labeling; if you do a drama, you only get drama scripts, if you do a comedy, that’s it, you’re pigeonholed as a comedy actor. And I didn’t understand why. I just made a film about a clandestine abortion, don’t these people want to see me in something else? So, it was very difficult for me to choose the right project afterward.”

What mark did winning the César Award leave on your career, on you?

“The César I received was for ‘female hope’ (espoir féminin), there’s a positivism that emanates from the award. People show you they have faith in you, and you, in a way, have to show them you deserve your place. What I mean is that the award also came with a kind of pressure and responsibility. That’s how I felt, on a personal level. I felt I had to show they made the right choice, but that was a personal pressure, not from the industry.“

“You always have this fear that it might be the last role, and you depend on many factors that you can’t control anyway.”

Anamaria Vartolomei, actress

At Venice, she was noticed by the jury president, none other than Korean director Bong Joon Ho, winner of 4 Oscars for the film Parasite. This led to the offer to act in his film, Mickey 17, alongside Robert Pattinson, Mark Ruffalo, and Toni Collette. It was her debut in English and with an American film crew, the movie being produced by Warner Bros. Pictures with a budget of nearly 120 million dollars. On the London film set, one of the executive producers was also present – Brad Pitt. Anamaria confesses that, at first, she felt awkward in this universe.

“It was hard, first of all, because it’s not my language. I had a dialect coach. Bong was okay with my accent, but I wanted to perfect it. Being my first role in English, with such a good cast, I wanted it to be a kind of business card for the United States, so people could see I don’t have that typical French accent that confines you to all sorts of secondary roles as a seductive Frenchwoman.

The director was very nice. He didn’t want us to take the role into cliché at all. He let me work as I wanted with the coach and really helped me. He is very humble, generous, he’s like a child on the set.

At first, I didn’t feel like I belonged at all. Everything was so big. I had only worked with French crews, where you have about 30 people on the team and you know everyone. Then I found myself in a huge studio, and when I came out of it, I saw Ryan Gosling, because they were filming Barbie at the time. I got in the car and told the driver: ‘That was Ryan Gosling!’ But the man was used to it, it was normal for him; for me, everything was new.”

And here, in France, how is it?

“It’s not like that. I, for example, don’t like to be alone. I stay with the crew. Sure, sometimes you need to isolate yourself, but for a few minutes, an hour at most. But with Americans, each star had their status, they are isolated, that’s how they work.

And I, at first, suffered a lot because of this, I felt lonely, especially since I was the only French person. Afterward, I asked to stay on set. I thought, I don’t see these people every day while working, let me at least take advantage of it.

In the end, it was okay, especially after I realized that if I only thought about my accent, I wouldn’t be focusing on the pleasure of acting, on the emotions. And I got used to the language, to the place. And, in the end, this wasn’t even a completely American experience. We filmed in London, with many Europeans, the director is Korean, and Mark Ruffalo even told me: “You know, it’s not usually like this.” Creativity and a more European manner were the priority.

How did you build the character?

We discussed a lot about how he imagined the character. He always directs you, he wants you to propose things, you have that freedom, he likes it when you let yourself be guided by your imagination, but he is very attentive to rhythm. Everything is precise to the millimeter, meaning if you have to put your hand on a cake at the three-second mark, you have to put your hand there at that exact moment. If not, you do it again.

He drew everything, he made a storyboard, and every evening he would send you each scene, drawn out, for what you were scheduled to film the next day. The film was already edited in a way; if I was drawn in profile, that’s how I was filmed, so everything was very precisely thought out.

What was the interaction like with your co-stars, who are so well-known in Hollywood?

Robert Pattinson was very isolated, but I think, being very shy, he was protecting himself in a way, especially since he had 80-90 days of shooting, playing two roles. I understood he needed to concentrate. But he is very nice.

Mark Ruffalo is very cool, he would shake hands with every extra before and after playing the scene. I really liked him before I met him, and I liked him even more when I realized he’s genuinely a good guy. No airs, nothing. He also had his doubts sometimes, he wasn’t sure about what he was proposing. He was always a very agreeable partner, he motivated you, he encouraged you. For example, sometimes when we would leave together after we finished, he would tell me: ‘That was great, bravo!’”

Și te simțeai într-un fel, dacă Mark Ruffalo mi-a zis că am făcut treaba bună, înseamnă că e ok.

Did you leave that project with a different kind of self-confidence?

“No. I thought, now that I’ve finished filming, I’m going to be cut from the edit, hahaha. I lived with the fear that it was, after all, something too big for me. But ultimately, the impression is that they are two different industries. Americans dream of making films like us, with the camera on the shoulder, close to the emotion, without makeup, like we do in Romania, in Belgium, in France. They dream of that because it’s something totally different.

And we are fascinated by what we don’t know. I think we all have a desire to work with what we don’t know. Now I can say that I don’t necessarily have that dream anymore, of making films in America. Sure, I would like to, but I’m not so keen on it.”

While her role in Mickey 17 was secondary, Anamaria Vartolomei impressed film critics with two other main roles: in Being Maria, directed by Jessica Palud, presented at Cannes in 2024, and most recently, the role of a young mother in L’intérêt d’Adam (Adam’s Interest), directed by Laura Wandel and presented this year, also at Cannes, in the Semaine de la Critique section.

In Being Maria, Vartolomei brings to life the story of actress Maria Schneider, the victim of abuse by director Bernardo Bertolucci in Last Tango in Paris (1972) and by her famous co-star, Marlon Brando, now played by Matt Dillon.

“Filming Maria was very intense; it lasted 25 days because we didn’t have much money, and it took place in Paris and a little in the south of France. It was very difficult because it was a character role for me, very different from who I am. I worked a lot with Jessica Palud.

Of course, we started to question the subject itself; you ask yourself questions, as an actress. Especially since I started acting when I was 10 years old. You realize, I was very protected by everyone, because I also had my parents with me, who aren’t from the industry and wanted to make sure everything was okay. I was very privileged, in a way, that nothing happened to me and I never had to deal with strange things or abusive people. Plus, since the #metoo phenomenon, the dynamics have changed, nevertheless. But when you dig deeper, you realize that these things still happen.

The fact that women speak out, that actresses speak out, matters a lot. There is also protection for minors on set. Now things are really changing and becoming mandatory.”

From this point of view, do you feel more comfortable working with female directors, with women?

“I never thought about the gender of the person writing a script, and my view of the world doesn’t depend on what I have between my legs…

Of course, it influences you in a way, but it’s a matter of sensitivity, first of all—of culture, of many other factors that make me see the world in a certain way.

I realize I’ve worked more with women than men, but I think that came naturally. When I read a script, I don’t consider whether it’s a woman or a man, but rather how they emphasize nudity. I question that more, if it’s necessary, how it’s filmed, how much is filmed…

“For me, it’s important that nudity has an artistic justification, that it adds something to the film, that we don’t do things gratuitously.
That’s been done for years. Enough!”

For example, with the Merteuil series, adapted from Dangerous Liaisons—which is, after all, an erotic book—it was interesting to see how, in 2024, you can retell the story in a more feminist way, so to speak, and to see what the director’s approach was. We all worked together, with the help of an intimacy coach; we discussed what was necessary and what wasn’t, what you’re comfortable with and what you’re not.”

The miniseries Merteuil will be released this fall on HBO Max and stars Anamaria Vartolomei, Lucas Bravo (editor’s note: who plays Gabriel in Emily in Paris), and the famous German actress Diane Kruger, known for Inglourious Basterds and In The Fade.

“Diane impressed me, she is a very magnetic woman, she has something spectral, something cold, German. I talked to her, and she told me she suffered a lot because when she was young and working as a model, it was hard for her to shake that image and be given a chance to show she can act. And she really can! She does some things in the series that truly impressed me. She’s an actress who works hard; she doesn’t mess around. With all her experience, she still wants to prove what she’s capable of. I found that vulnerability interesting—to still have doubts while playing a very complex role. And I learned a lot from her; on set, she is very focused, she’s technical, and she knows the script perfectly, even though it’s not her native language.”

“It’s a luxury to have access to these very talented people. Honestly, I think Mark Ruffalo impressed me the most. I’ve seen so many of his films, and he always seems brilliant to me. He also has something different from the typical American standard. He has something more sensitive. For them, it’s a very serious profession; they work a lot with coaches. In France, we rely more on spontaneity. In America, they prepare for the role more.”

After the premiere of the film L’intérêt d’Adam at Cannes, the publication The New York Times dedicated a special article to her with the headline: “Anamaria Vartolomei Brings a Fearless Note to Her Roles.” Variety praised the actress’s performance as “terrific.”

In love with auteur cinema, Anamaria confesses that such difficult, but relevant, roles bring her the greatest satisfaction. She is at a point where she can choose the projects she gets involved in, and behind her decisions, there is both a strategy and an emotional side.

“Sometimes I choose by instinct; it has to be well-written, of course, to be constructed in a fairly controlled way, so I know I’ll be with someone who knows what they’re doing. Yes, the director’s name matters, but I am also very open to first films; that has never been an obstacle for me. Then, of course, the role itself matters, what is proposed to me, what they allow me to do, but there’s also a strategy involved.

I made many period films for a while. Should I do another one? No. I’ll do something contemporary. For example, I filmed The Count of Monte Cristo, then De Gaulle, which will be released in 2026, I was confirmed for Merteuil, then I spoke with my agent and told her I want to return to something that represents me more, an auteur, independent film. And, with God’s help, that very week, I received L’intérêt d’Adam. I really wanted to return to such a project, I was truly happy, I said: what a cool role!”

“It was a very difficult shoot; we filmed a lot in long takes, the role was hard, the story takes place over a single day, and you have to maintain the emotion for an extended period. It helped me a lot to act alongside Léa Drucker; she is such a good actress and a very kind woman!

It’s made by the people who also produced Anatomy of a Fall and by the Dardenne brothers. It was a combination that immediately made you think of a festival.”

So you try to choose your projects intelligently and hope that you’ll be there too,” says Anamaria Vartolomei.

In De Gaulle, a two-part biopic about the French general and president Charles de Gaulle, Anamaria plays the main female role – a heroine of the French Resistance. In fact, it’s noteworthy that almost all of her main roles portray different forms of female heroism.

In 2024, Anamaria also made her debut in the Romanian language. She is the protagonist of the film Jaful Secolului (The Heist of the Century), directed by Teodora Mihai, from a screenplay by Cristian Mungiu. The story is based on the case of Romanian thieves who stole famous paintings by Van Gogh, Picasso, Gauguin, Matisse, and Monet from the Netherlands, then burned them. In the film, Anamaria Vartolomei is Natalia, a young mother who went to work in the Netherlands to offer her daughter, left at home with her grandmother, a better life. For this role, Anamaria received the Best Actress Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

“I was nervous because, after all, I have a slight French accent, and Mungiu told me so. We tried to work together to erase it as much as possible. I act differently in French, I act differently in English, and I act differently in Romanian. It’s never the same way of interpreting, of questioning, of bringing characters to life.”

Did this experience bring you closer to your roots in any way?

“Yes, totally. And especially the film, being a story that is close to my parents’ journey, who also left when I was little, they worked in France to bring me there…

For me, it was a very intimate way of talking about an experience that is, in fact, universal, but for me, it had something very personal.”

“What other projects would you like to do? Is there a specific director you would like to work with?

I’ve made a sort of mental list of people I’d like to work with, but it’s not limited to that. Sometimes you have directors who are just starting out and they propose a brilliant script. I’d like to continue making films in France, to make more films in Romania, in America, in England.”

Beyond a brilliant career on the big screen, Anamaria Vartolomei is also an ambassador for the house of Chanel. All of her red carpet appearances have been provided by Chanel ever since she was just a child.

“How do you feel in the world of Chanel, when you go to their events, when you wear their outfits?”

“It’s strange to say this, and I don’t want it to sound pretentious, but I feel at home, because I started working with them when I was 12 years old; I grew up with them. We have a professional relationship, but we also have a very human one, a rather beautiful relationship of loyalty; they even know my family.

They are loyal to the people they work with, they keep them, they hold you dear to their hearts, they try to bring you closer to them, to do great things together.”

Everything concerning her career and her image is now handled by three specialists: a film agent, an image agent, and a person dedicated to PR. They advise her on making the best decisions regarding the films she acts in, the events she attends, and the interviews she gives.

“First of all, you have to know what you want. If you want to appear everywhere and you enjoy it, okay, that’s great; there are many actors who do that.

But there are also events I want to go to and it’s nice; I have the opportunity to meet people from the industry whom I wouldn’t meet otherwise. For example, I went to a dinner organized by Madame Figaro magazine, a magazine I appreciate and for which I’ve done two covers, and Coralie Fargeat, the director of the film The Substance, was sitting in front of me. I was happy to meet her.

When you’re not working, what do you like to do?

What all normal people do in their free time. Yes, sometimes, when I’m between projects, I get bored, especially if my friends have fixed-hour jobs and are at work, but I go to the movies, I take walks, I do sports, I read a bit. But even when there’s no filming, there are promotional periods, and those require availability, both of time and emotionally.

“Are there also negative sides that come with your profession?”

“Yes, doubts, uncertainty, you don’t really know what to expect. It’s hard to make a place for yourself, but I think it’s even harder to maintain it. You have to have a strategy, but also remain spontaneous, preserve your personality, enrich your imagination. But sometimes it doesn’t depend on you, and I think the hardest part is to think that you work for nothing, that it’s useless to be good, to be serious; sometimes when it’s not meant to be, it’s not meant to be, and when it doesn’t catch on, it doesn’t catch on. So I think that’s the hardest part.

That was pretty hard for me. When you don’t have the necessary maturity, the first thing that comes to mind when someone else is chosen instead of you is to ask yourself what you’re missing. You think she’s better, especially when it’s a person very different from who you are; it makes you compare yourself a lot. But that changes with age.

I would say this profession has developed a kind of constant competition; you become competitive. A friend once told me: ‘Anamaria, life is not a casting,’ and it made me change my mind. Indeed, you don’t necessarily have to succeed at everything, to be the best. In your personal life, I think we can allow ourselves to be more vulnerable, to fall, to get back up. That also makes you grow and develop as a person.

It’s important to allow yourself not to be perfect, not to be what the world expects you to be.

A few years ago, you closed your Instagram account. Why did you choose to step away from social media?

Because it was too toxic. People post what they eat, who they go out with; that developed a rather unhealthy curiosity in me. Curiosity, for me, is a very important quality, but that was a misplaced, harmful curiosity. I didn’t like what it was producing in me. Then yes, there were the comparisons. I wanted to be like this, to be there, like others. You become frustrated, and it felt like it was degrading me a bit.

So even for you, a successful, beautiful person, social media caused you to have doubts?

Yes, I think it happens to everyone. I don’t think there’s anyone who doesn’t compare themselves to someone else. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

Then, as an actor, to use it for self-promotion seems strange to me. I wasn’t comfortable posting pictures of myself, saying: ‘look, I did this.’ Okay, there are people who handle promotion, but for you to do it yourself seems a bit strange to me.

What does your PR agent say about that, does she agree?

She has nothing to do with it; no one can force you. I know there are brands that impose it. For example, there are actors and actresses who would have liked to leave social media, but because they have a contract with a brand, they have to post pictures of what they do for them.

Has it ever happened that you missed out on a contract because you didn’t have a social media account?

No, Chanel doesn’t require that.”

In her next project, the film Miles & Juliette, she will play the lead female role. Mick Jagger, the lead singer of the Rolling Stones, will produce the film through his company, Jagged Films. The film will tell the story of the famous jazz musician Miles Davis, who travels to Paris in 1949 at the age of 22. There, he falls in love with Juliette Gréco, a French singer and actress, played by Anamaria Vartolomei. The cast will also include Xavier Dolan.

It’s all the more impressive for us that, among so many important collaborations, Anamaria accepted a new interview for Cultura la dubă. “Of course, how could I not? You were the first to tell my story in Romania,” she says with a smile on her face.

At our meeting, she wears a Chanel suit as naturally as can be, with a pair of jeans and minimal makeup. She has the natural charm of a Frenchwoman, but her ease and sociable nature have more to do with her Romanian roots. In her family, in Paris, they speak predominantly Romanian, and Anamaria continues the tradition of going to the Orthodox church on Sundays.

What do you feel still connects you to Romania? Do you still feel a sense of belonging?

Yes, the more I grow, the more I feel it. For example, now, during the elections, I went to vote. I also feel a responsibility as a Romanian from the diaspora.

We, those of us here, also contribute to what Romania means, I realized that from the election results. Just because we are not there doesn’t mean the country no longer belongs to us.

It’s up to us to manage to maintain a balance and lead the country towards what we can see here, as an economic, political, social, cultural model. We have a very rich country and it’s a shame it’s not developed enough. I feel quite responsible for what happens there and I try to stay connected.

When I filmed The Count of Monte Cristo, they came up with the idea for me to speak Romanian and I thought it was very beautiful, I was proud. It’s important to showcase your country, to show people that we are more than just a few clichés. After all, we have so many talents… And through your project, at Cultura la dubă, we see how many talents Romania has, who are doing important, difficult things. We must be proud of this and act in such a way that there are more and more of them.

I’ve seen that in interviews you give abroad, you say you are from Romania.

“Yes, of course. I like that Chanel now, when they post something, writes ‘French-Romanian actress,’ because that’s what I am in the end. I have never tried to erase it, to pretend I’m just French, because that’s not what represents me.”

***

This article is part of the “France Week” series, an initiative by Cultura la dubă supported by BNP Paribas. So far, within this project, Cultura la dubă has presented the stories of 22 Romanian artists and cultural figures based in France.

The post SPECIAL Anamaria Vartolomei, actress: “I feel a responsibility as a Romanian from the diaspora. We are more than just a few clichés.” appeared first on Cultura la dubă.

_{foto: Bogdan Iordache, Cultura la dubă}

We met Mădălina Constantin in the foyer of the La Colline Theater in Paris, one of the 5 national theaters in France. She was greeting the people working in the theater and she led us through the back rooms of the theater as if it was her home.

She is an actress and is playing in the most recent project put together by one of the most appreciated directors in France and the director of the La Colline Theater, Wajdi Mouawad. The show “Racine carrée du verbe ȇtre” has a 6 hour duration and is inspired by the originally Lebanese director, who is known for writing the screenplay for Incendies, directed by Denis Villeneuve.

For Mădălina it has been a challenge and an overcoming of her own limits, but especially fulfillment. 

“Life is in motion, it is important to listen, to see where you feel good, where life blossoms in you.

When I’m up here, on stage, I feel it blossoming and that I am where I belong.”

Born in Câmpina, a town of 28.000 inhabitants, she has always been attracted to acting and only now, at a mature age, has she understood why.

“I have wanted to do this as a child. I would watch many old films, with divas, I wanted to be like those characters, I found them much more interesting than the women I knew. It all started with this fascination.

”And I was stunned that my parents knew actors from the television.

It is obvious now that it was a vital need of expression for me.

I was a pretty introverted child, perhaps even slightly shy, I carried something of a burden, a sadness, I notice it now when I see photos of myself as a child.

I think that acting has helped me , because it is easier for me to express myself when I’m on stage or working on a part.” 

At 17 she left to Bucharest, despite her parents’ opposition, and went with the flow.

“My parents thought that I could follow any profession I wanted. My desire was to study acting, and my father didn’t agree. In the 11th grade, I moved to Bucharest to go to the theater, to the cinema. Those days, Câmpina had only one cinema and now even that one is closed. There wasn’t a theater.”

She was admitted to UNATC, in Ion Cojar’s class, and in her fourth year she made her stage debut in Cătălina Buzoianu show, “2001 Odyssey”, at the Bulandra Theater. She was cast again by the great Romanian director in “Lolita” at the Small Theater. 

Two years after graduating, Mădălina was accepted to a one year stage at the Paris Conservatory, taking one of the 5 spots for 2000 candidates. 

“When I arrived at the Conservatory, I had a culture shock. It is very different from UNATC. 20 years ago, Romania was even further away from France than she is now. It was very hard to adapt, but I learned a lot and managed to keep up with them.”

I learned to appreciate Romanian education even more after that.

At first I felt from a different picture, a foreigner. I kept some of that, I don’t know if it’s because I wanted to or that I could not have done it differently.”

In Paris she has worked with many young directors, and a certain meeting would leave a mark on her career – with the Romanian playwright and director, Alexandra Badea.

“Alexandra’s freedom inspired me. She is someone I admire greatly. It was love at first sight with her, we were compatible in many aspects, we were unseparated for a few years, we made a theater company together, and I acted in her first shows.”

Her role in Solitude, the short film written by Alexandra Badea, has brought Mădălina an award for acting in the Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival.

She then started having more important collaborations, acting in Fanny Ardant’s first feature film, Cendres et Sang. Although she was initially more drawn toward cinema, she started to love the theater just as much. An important role in this sense was played by the Russian director Anatoly Vasiliev.

“I have seen this man do miracles. I met him while working with one of his students, then I went to Rome for a month and worked on Chekhov plays with him. To work with a Russian director on Chekhov is amazing.”

I saw actors decomposing and recomposing themselves in front of me. Then I understood a lot about acting and identified with working with him.”

She played in the Avignon Theater Festival and in one of Arnaud Despleshin’s films, Deception, with Léa Seydoux. But she doesn’t think that she has reached a peak in her career, she is reaching for more.

“I have never seen the limits of this profession. I never set a certain goal, to be an actress at Bulandra or anywhere else. I just believed that I have to do my job at the highest level. I’m still on my way, I don’t feel that I’ve reached a peak, I’m still evolving.”

I try to go through life without consciously and rationally deciding what I want and what I will do. I believe that we are connected to things on another level, not just rationally.

My life would have been different if I had stayed in Romania. My life here would have been different if I had met other people.”

Settled in Paris for 20 years, Mădălina Constantin has done more acting on the stages and film sets of France than Romania, not because she wanted it this way, but because that is how it turned out. She would love to have more work in her home country, but many times, she is dealing with labels that limit her activity.

“Today I like saying that I’m a Romanian, I’m not French. My husband says “You’re French, that is what it says on your id card.” I say “no, I’m Romanian.” Maybe I like playing with this. But there is a painful part about it, when I go to Romania, many people I know call me French. Or if I go to an audition, they say “oh, you’re too French.” Still, I don’t have an accent in Romanian, my soul is Romanian.” 

She became a French citizen, but she visits Romania as often as possible. In Bucharest she meets her colleagues, and in her hometown she takes her daughter, who is 8 years old, to see her grandparents. 

“It is important for me that she speaks Romanian and she is very attached to holydays in Romania, our food, our culture, but, I have to admit that here she has other opportunities, she hears things, we see museums, she is much more stimulated intellectual and artistically because we are living here. Even the street itself is so diverse in Paris.”

Ever since she has become a mother, Mădălina’s perspective on life has completely changed. And her struggle for her career has been harder.

“I hit a dimension of life that I didn’t have before. To be a mother is something completely special, for which you are, actually, never prepared and you can’t imagine it before it happens.”

When I was pregnant I almost didn’t get any work, there were physically demanding projects, and when they found out that I was pregnant, They didn’t cast me.

Then, her first year, I took my daughter with me everywhere, on the set, with her nanny. For four years, I have dedicated myself to her.

Then I started to make order in my thoughts and say “now I am 100% an actress and I am fully here”, when I am with my daughter I am 100% mother. A harder thing is to be divided at home, between being a woman, a wife and a mother, it’s been hard for me to separate things.”

She is married to the French actor and director Frédéric Fisbach, but she didn’t get a citizenship for her marriage, she only got it later, for professional reasons.

“I was proud to get my citizenship based on my work, not the fact that I was married. The file was based on my career here.”

When she is not with her child or working on a part, Mădălina commits to her writing and she dreams of the day when her screenplays will become film projects. SHe is especially dedicated to psychology and the woman’s condition in society. She is inspired by Paris life and she enjoys it every time she can.

“I love taking walks in Paris, observing people or just sitting at a terrace and observing behaviors, imagining what is beyond them. Everything about human nature interests me, it is fascinating.

Here I learned to wash away my preconceptions, I try not to judge, I think that judging is the first thing that can block your mind. I believe that it is a part of our work as actors, to try to understand human nature as much as possible and see where a reaction or decision can start.

Acting is a life profession, you can’t separate it.”

• Do your thoughts come in Romanian or in French?
• In my mind, the things concerning the soul are expressed in Romanian and everything else in French.

• Do you ever miss Romania?
• All the time.
• What do you miss?
• I miss specific things that you cannot find here, no matter what. In the air that you breathe, the humour. There are things that are funny only to us. That is what I miss. I feel Romanian. I’m a Romanian in Paris.”

***This story is part of the “France Week” series, a Cultura la Dubă project supported by BNP Paribas.

The post Mădălina Constantin, actress: “In Paris I learned to wash away all preconceptions.” appeared first on Cultura la dubă.

Versiunea în ROMÂNĂ

This story begins in the year 1999, in a Romanian village of 1,300 inhabitants from Bacău county, where the summers are dry and the winters are cold, often struck by blizzards.

On a spring day, on April 9th, Anamaria was born, the first child of a Romanian couple. Like more than 2 million other Romanians, the young parents, driven by the desire to give their daughter a better life, went to work abroad when Anamaria was merely 2 years old.

The little one was brought up by her paternal grandparents in the village of Plopu, near the town of Dărmănești, while her parents ended up in the city of lights, Paris.

Up until she was 6 years old, Anamaria was raised by her grandparents, and before starting school, her parents, who were already integrated and settled in France, took her with them for good.

It is precisely in Paris that we met Ana, who was named one of the revelations of the year by the César Academy in 2021. Today, Anamaria Vartolomei is a well-known and highly regarded actress in France, but also a woman of rare beauty.

“Arriving in France felt like a second birth to me. I couldn’t speak the language, I didn’t know anything about the local culture, I couldn’t understand what was going on around me.

I found myself in a new, different world, and I missed my grandparents. I went through such a shock that I even lost some memories of that time.”

Her parents enrolled her in a French school, so the child was forced to adapt. Within a few months she could already hold a conversation in French, which helped her make friends. It was school that brought her closer to acting too. Some extracurricular activities involving poetry recitations or small theatre performances caught her attention, so she signed up for an acting course for children.

Her life changed completely when she came into contact with the world of film. Once, her father, who owns a construction company, had a job at an actress’s house.

He told her about Ana’s passion for acting and she encouraged them to check out a casting website. That is where they found an advert looking for a girl of about 12 years old, and the film just happened to be directed by a Romanian-born director – Eva Ionesco.

We met Ana recently, one morning at one of her favourite places in Paris – Angelina, a typical Parisian tea and coffee shop founded in 1903 and turned famous over the years.

The writer Marcel Proust and the fashion designer Coco Chanel used to frequent the place, which still retains the elegance that used to define the Paris of yore, with its silver cutlery and teapots as well as the impressionist paintings on the walls.

And, because everything in this world seems to be interconnected, the evening before our meeting, Anamaria Vartolomei had just attended the launch of the Haute Couture collection of Chanel, the house that dresses the beautiful Romanian-born actress for all important events.

“We don’t have a contract, our relationship works very naturally. I feel privileged and very lucky. I don’t have an obligation not to wear other brands, but in terms of clothing, what more could you possibly wish for other than Chanel? I think they trust me and I hope we will be able to do a project together.”

Her relationship with Chanel began when Ana was just 12 years old and coincided with her big screen debut.

Back then, Anamaria Vartolomei was to attend the premiere of My Little Princess, the film directed by Eva Ionesco, telling a story inspired by her very life. As a child, Eva Ionesco was photographed nude by her Romanian-born French mother, Irina Ionesco. At the time, the photos sparked controversy. 

My Little Princess featured Anamaria Vartolomei in similar scenes, and the courage and talent she showed were commanded by critics. Ana starred alongside the renowned French actress Isabelle Huppert, and the role earned her a nomination as the most promising young actress at the Lumière Awards in 2012.

“Isabelle Huppert treated me as if I were her child. She is a very accomplished actress, I learnt a lot from her and would like to work with her again.”

The film premiered at Cannes.

“Eva Ionesco then took me to various brands and we did several fittings. I thought we had already found an outfit, but Eva said: We have one more – Chanel. So, we went for a fitting at Chanel. My mom came along too. That is how I started collaborating with them and they took me under their wing.”

Afterwards, Anamaria caught the attention of both the French film world and the fashion houses. When she was just 14 years old, she was photographed by Karl Lagerfeld himself for a collaboration with Chanel.

And the film offers kept coming, especially because, after Anamaria starred with Isabelle Huppert, the famous actress’s agent offered to represent her too.

„I didn’t have an agent back then. We have been working together for 10 years now and it is the best thing that could’ve happened to me. When you work with an agent who’s been watching you ever since you were little and sees your development, they really do understand what you want, what you like.”

Despite the resounding success she enjoyed as a child of merely 12 years old, at school, Ana had to face the harsh reactions of some teenage peers who were stigmatising her for being Romanian.

“They were saying: Ah, donnez-moi 1 euro, 1 euro. They were pretending to be beggars. Well, if that’s what they’re like, what am I supposed to do?”

“Or they were saying I lived in a caravan, so they were implying we are all gypsies. This happened when I was 12 or 13, just as I was becoming a teenager. They were mindless kids. My parents taught me not to mind people who badmouth me. At that age, kids can be mean too.

But now, when I go out in the film world and say I come from Romania, I get reactions like: Ah, Romania, Mungiu! Romania is very respected. Many tell me they have filmed in Romania, in Buftea, and that they have enjoyed it a lot.”

Anamaria went on to study Acting at Cours Florent, a reputable theatre school in Paris, for 2 years. Afterwards, she finished another theatre course called Les Enfants Terribles.

In the meantime, she appeared in ”L’Ideal”, directed by Frédéric Beigbeder, “Éternité”, where she starred alongside Audrey Tatou, Bérénice Bejo and Mélanie Laurent, and in “La Bonne Epouse”, along with Juliette Binoche.

In her most recent film, ”L’Evénèment”, Ana plays the lead role and recounts the story presented in Annie Ernaux’s novel about the author’s abortion at a time when abortions were illegal in France, in the 1960s.

Anamaria says she did not choose an easy profession, but rather one that brings her tremendous joy.

“It’s a competitive environment, but I feel that after #metoo, my generation started showing more solidarity, we are like sisters, we support each other.“

Having passed the Baccalaureate, she was admitted to the Faculty of Modern Letters at the Sorbonne, but dropped out soon after, as her thoughts were wandering back to acting.

“My mom kept nagging me that it would be good to have a degree, so I went for one day and then said I didn’t like it and didn’t want to go anymore. I think it’s very hard to focus on something when you are actually focused on and passionate about something else.”

She would rather go to the US and take some acting classes there, hoping that one day she will make contact with Hollywood as well. In fact, the actress she admires most is the American Gena Rowlands.

“She is a phenomenal actress. Ever since watching her, I haven’t seen anyone else act as well as she does.”

Beyond her work in the world of cinema, like any youngster her age, Ana enjoys going out with friends, listening to music and going to parties. She is excited that she will soon be going with a friend to a concert by American artist Billie Eilish.

“My friends are from my guild, and when we don’t have projects we spend a lot of time together. We go out to cafes, museums, galleries, parties.

I listen to all kinds of music, either new or old. My parents used to listen a lot to Sting, Lauryn Hill, and I listen to Beyonce, Rihanna, but I also have a Romanian playlist. Do you want to see it?”

Appearing excited, she looks up the Romanian artists she sometimes listens to on her phone and reads their names out loud:

“This is what I’ve got: Mihaela Mihai, Mihaela Runceanu, Stela Enache, Mirabela Dauer, Maria Tănase, Dan Spătaru, Monica Anghel, Delia, but Delia when she was still in N&D, Nicu Alifantis, Gheorghe Dinică. Ah, Gheorghe Dinică, what an extraordinary actor he was and what a voice he had! I like him very much.

My mom developed my taste in music. We would always listen to the radio when we were little. And our TV was always on a music channel.”

“She sometimes sends me songs that she used to listen to when she was young and I tell her: I already know it! Hahaha. Because I was curious enough to look for Romanian music too.”

In fact, her relationship with her family is very strong. At 22, she is still living with her parents in a commune bordering Paris and says she is not planning on moving out until she is 25 or 26.

“When the time comes, I would like to live in the same commune as my parents. The metro line 12 is nearby, I have great connections to Paris. Or I would move to the 5th arrondissement, where the Orthodox Church is. I go there often. Not every Sunday, but as often as I can.

So I would have the church there and that is also the neighborhood of independent cinemas, where you can watch European films and old films.”

She wears a necklace with a golden Orthodox cross and is proud to embrace her Romanian roots, which she tries to protect. In the Vartolomei household, in Paris, the family speaks mostly Romanian, except for the little brother, Julian, whom they call Jules. He was born right when Ana arrived in Paris, he is 15 years of age and has been playing football since he was 5.

“He is very talented, I can see him playing on the national team, either for France or Romania, who knows?”

She usually goes to Romania at Christmas or Easter, when she also visits the relatives still living in the region of Moldova. In fact, it is from a great-grandmother that she has inherited her gorgeous blue eyes.

“It is important for us to preserve our roots, our connection with the relatives who are still in Romania. It’s only natural that we keep speaking Romanian so that we can communicate with our grandparents, with our relatives.”

“I think I am mature enough to understand that these are two different worlds, so I don’t go there saying: Gosh, where’s my Parisian comfort? No. When I go there, I am happy to see my family, and our grandparents are happy to see us. They are very old now, so we are enjoying our time together as long as they are still alive.”

She would like to take her French friends to visit Bucharest or Cluj and create a connection with Romania on a professional level too.

“I liked Bucharest a lot and I can see why it’s called Little Paris. I would really like to take my friends there. I wouldn’t take them to the village, because there wouldn’t be anything for them to do there, that’s reserved for family time. In Bucharest or Cluj, though, there is plenty to visit, there are plenty of places we can go out to.”

“I want to work in Romania, make films in Romania, work with Romanian directors.“

Much like the hearts of millions of Romanians who left their country out of necessity, Ana’s heart beats in between the first place she called home, her grandparent’s house in the village of Plopu, and life in Paris.

Her career path is not just an example of success, but also a story with the power to tear down barriers and stereotypes about the Romanians who work abroad.

And, most importantly, it gives young people like her the confidence that it is not nationality, but rather hard work, decency and talent that make us stand out in this world of globalization which we are all living in.

“I am both Romanian and French. This is where I see myself, this is where I’ve built myself, this is where I’ve settled down, so my life is in France, but my roots are in Romania. I was very intent on keeping my Romanian citizenship as well.”

“Last year, when I received the French citizenship, they asked me if I wanted to keep the Romanian one as well, and I said yes, of course.

I could’ve also got a French name, say, Annemarie, but I am Anamaria, I don’t need to change.”

***This story is part of the “France Week” series, a Cultura la Dubă project supported by BNP Paribas.

The post Anamaria Vartolomei, actress: “I could have chosen a French name, Annemarie, but I am Anamaria, I don’t need to change.” appeared first on Cultura la dubă.

Anamaria Vartolomei is one of the tens of thousands of romanian children whose parents wished a better life for them and left to work abroad. Ana was born in a village in Bacau and has started over in a foreign country when she was only 6 years old. This turned out to be the opportunity of her life.

“I was born in Bacău in 1999 and I grew up in Plopu, a village next to the town of Dărmănești, with my grandparents, until the age of 6, my parents having left to France since I was 2.”

That is how Anamaria begins her story in the interview she agreed to do for Cultura la dubă, just a few days after the prestigious César Academy from France included her in a small selection of revelations of 2021 in cinema, for her role in the film Just Kids.

Anamaria Vartolomei has caught the eye of filmmakers when she was only 12, after playing her first part in a feature film.

She was chosen to star in a story directed by the Romanian born French actress and director, Eva Ionesco – My Little Princess, inspired by the director’s life. In her childhood, Eva Ionesco was photographed in nude by her mother, Irina Ionesco. At that time, in the 70’s, those photographs raised controversy.

In My Little Princess, Anamaria acted in similar scenes, and her courage and talent have been appreciated by critics. She stared along with Isabelle Huppert, and was nominated for that role at the Lumière Awards, for the most promising young actress in 2012.

Since then not only her talent, but also her extraordinary beauty have caught the eye of the French press. Young Ana has been, for a few years, a constant presence at Chanel fashion shows and the film roles have continued to come.

Beyond the charm of France and the elegance of the events she’s in, Ana prides herself with her origins and talks about her home country in foreign press interviews.

We had this conversation in romanian, a language that Anamaria speaks as though she had never left the country.

Ana, please tell us, what is your relationship with Romania and with France. When and why did you leave Bacău?

My parents left the country to build a better future and to offer a wider, more offering chance. I joined them when I was 6 and this is where we settled, we grew, we developed.

“Romania is my home land, and France is the cosmopolitan, open and diverse country that has adopted me and allowed me to do my work passionately.”

Anamaria Vartolomei, actress

How did your passion toward acting start and how did it evolve? What studies do you have in the field?

My primary school had different extracurricular activities: theater, poetry, stage-play. A friend of mine enlisted and I followed her. That’s how my interest started. I liked it so much that I asked my parents to take me to theater courses outside the school.

In that period, my father, who has a construction firm, was working for a theater actress. He spoke to her about me and she suggested i enrolled in an online casting website. Browsing around, I came across the casting call for My Little Princess, directed by Eva Ionesco.

The cherry on top: she was of romanian origins! Physically, I corresponded to the requirements for the role so I went to the auditions. Eva chose me to play Violeta and ever since, I’ve never wanted to do anything else.

She pointed me toward Cours Florent, a renown theater school in Paris, where I studied for 2 years. And two years ago, I took another theater class called Les Enfants Terribles. They were both interesting, but to me the film set remains the best class, and my acting partners, the best teachers.

The César Academy chose you as one of the revelations for 2021, for your role in Just Kids. What does that mean to you?

The César revelations are chosen by a committee of casting directors. So it’s comforting, I would say, to have their validation, support and encouragement. It’s already a great reward!

How did your parents react when you told them that you wanted to pursue acting?

My parents have always supported me. They were open-minded and understanding of a role that most other parents would have turned down.
I’m enormously thankful for the balance and support they give me.

Do you speak to each other in french or romanian?

We speak Romanian. Mixed with French, to be honest (laughs), but to us, our roots are precious and it is important to keep our native language.

You are very beautiful! Who do you resemble in your family?

Thank you! I would say that I’m a mixture between both of my parents, but mostly my father. I’ve inherited my eyes from my mother’s grandmother.

How did you manage to break through in such a difficult field, with such high competition?

Hard work, as in any other field, there’s no secret about it. Faith, determination and a good team.

Family is the personal team that knows you better than anyone else and guides you best when in doubt, and the professional team: the film agent and the image agent. They’re there to help you chose, make yourself special, to understand some of the industry rules, so you know how to use them.

“It is essential to be surrounded by good people, but the most important is to remain true to yourself and follow your instinct. By doing that, you can’t fail.”

Would you like to work with any Romanian director?

Yes, I would love to! I admire the unique sensibility and raw dimension of Romanian cinema. Cristian Mungiu is a filmmaker who I keep in great respects and I would love to be directed by him. Two years ago I saw One Step Behind the Seraphim by Daniel Sandu, in the Romanian film festival in Paris and I loved it.

It’s funny that a year later I was chosen to be part of the jury at the Effervescence film festival in Macon, a French city, and this film was in the main competition. We unanimously voted for it and I swear that I haven’t influenced my colleagues.

“Romanian cinema has a lot to offer, it’s a cinema of sentiment, of truth, and I’m very proud of it.”

From what you’ve said I understand that you’re attracted more toward film acting than theater. Is that correct?

I don’t know, as I said earlier, I took only theater classes and the academical aspect sort of froze me up. I enjoy the spontaneity of cinema and maybe also the fact that when you make a mistake, you can do it again. On the stage it’s more complicated.

But theater offers an impressive technique, and when you come across genius works from Shakespeare, Musset, Moliere or Racine and you confront their characters’ issues, cinema may seem simpler.

What ties you to Romania now?

Memories, family, people I know and I love Romania for it’s beauty, delicious food, dreamy popular music and our cheerfulness.

Where do you see yourself in the future, what would you like to do the most?

It’s difficult to make a projection because the medium I’m passionate about and in which I have decided to perform can not allow it. It’s hard to feel like an actress when everything can stop in a moment. But I hope, God willing, that I will grow old on the film set.

Other than acting, what are your other passions? How do you like spending your free time?

As any other girl my age, I think, I like spending time with my friends, music, reading, dancing and travelling. I can’t wait for cinemas to reopen, concert halls, restaurants and museums… We need them greatly!

The post Anamaria Vartolomei, Romanian born actress, was named one of the year’s revelations by the César Academy. appeared first on Cultura la dubă.