Presents A production "Aparte Film" An animated documentary by Anca Damian 35 mm, DCP and HD 2011 73 min
SYNOPSIS The animated documentary feature-length Crulic The Path to Beyond tells the life s story of Crulic, the 33 years old Romanian who died in a Polish prison while making hunger strike. The acclaimed Romanian actor, Vlad Ivanov, narrates Crulic s ironic voice over from beyond the grave. A strong visual style, the result of beautiful hand drawn, collage, stopmotion and cut-cut animation techniques, blend to create a striking, surprisingly integrated and memorable film.
The Crulic Case On the 11th of July 2007, a wallet belonging to an important Polish Judge, containing some credit cards, is stolen: on the same day, there are two withdrawals from the cards: total value, about 500 Euro. Crulic had previously been accused of another theft. On the 10th of September, he is accused of having stolen from the Judge on the 11th of July. Crulic is brought to the Krakow Detention Center Custody prison. He decided to start a hunger strike from the day he was arrested, asking for: a meeting with somebody from the Romanian Consulate, a change of the attorney. In exchange, the Consul writes an answer to Crulic, in which he advises him to put his trust in Polish justice. Crulic claimed he was in Italy at the day of the theft, and not only the bus ticket, but also the record containing the passengers names, confirms his innocence. At the beginning of December, his detention was lengthened by 3 months. In the first days of 2008, the man's condition was already very bad. Finally, on the 11th of January the prison doctors, decided to force-feed him via a probe. A needle perforated Crulic's pleura. That led to complications. Finally, the Court agreed to release the man so that he could be treated in a civilian hospital. The ambulance took Crulic to the Interior Ministry Hospital: he had muscular and tissue atrophy, and suffered from pneumothorax. He died after 16 hours. Press investigation started in both countries. The repercussions of the investigation have concluded with the resignation of the Minister of the Foreign Affairs, while in Poland, 3 doctors were officially accused of Crulic's death.
Director s Statement Claudiu Crulic s story has always fascinated me, especially his death: he could see his body leaving this world with each passing day, while his soul was still there. The idea of doing an animation allowed me to represent this abyss. Animation gives you a lot of freedom, so I took advantage of its tools. It sort of justified itself, really: how else would you make a dead person narrate his own story? I believe in complex feelings. Laughing and crying is a much stronger emotion than crying alone. Besides, if the film would have stuck to the drama, it would have become unbearable to watch. Claudiu Crulic came from Dorohoi, in Moldavia, and Moldavians have this adorable self-ironic rhetoric, which probably comes from their wisdom. How else could Claudiu narrate such a tragic story if not by being detached and ironical? Going in a hunger strike to prove your innocence is pretty extreme - and rare - nowadays. I met people who thought it was just his own fault why on earth didn t he eat and choose to live? This man wanted to be heard and his only weapon was his own body. I see this as an act of rare heroism.
Anca Damian She studied at the Academy of Theatre and Film Arts where she obtained a diploma in Cinematography and a Doctor's Degree in Arts, Cinema and Media. Anca worked as director of photography at two long feature films (FORGOTTEN BY GOD 1991, THE WAY OF DOGS 1992) and at a lot of shorts and documentaries, and almost all of them got national prizes for the Direction of Photography. After that she worked as a director, screenwriter and producer for several of award winning documentaries. In 2008 she made her first long feature film as a director, screenwriter and co-producer. INTALNIRI INCRUCISATE- CROSSING DATES (2008), a Romanian-Finish co-production, was selected at Pusan, Chicago, Goteborg, Pune International Film Festivals, Festival of East European Cinema (Cottbus) India International Film Festival (Goa), Rome Independent Film Festival. A VERY UNSETTLED SUMMER is the next feature film that she will produce and direct. Maria Dinulescu, Jamie Sives, Kim Bodnia are confirmed in the cast and Film I Väst and Illusion Films are Swedish coproducers already committed to the project. Crossing Dates (2008): Director, scriptwriter and co-producer Selected at Pusan International Film Festival, Chicago International Film Festival, Cottbus International Film Festival, Goa International Film Festival, Pune International Film Festival, Goteborg International Film Festival, Rome Independent Film Festival. Screened in Romanian Film Week in Wien, Montreal, Madison, Paris, Budapest, New Delhi Director, scriptwriter and producer of documentaries and experimental films such as: (selection) Muzeul de la sosea/the Museum by the Avenue (2006) Awarded by the Romanian Filmmakers Union Selected al the International Festival of Film on Art Montreal (Canada) Exercitu de libertate/liberty Exercise (2003) Awarded by the Romanian Filmmakers Union Selected at the International Festival of Film on Art Montreal (Canada) and at Art Film Festival (Teplice)
Porto Franco 2000 (2001) Prize for the Best Photography at Dakino International Film Festival (Bucharest) Selected at FILMVIDEO Montecatini Short Film Festival (Italia), Imposibilul paradis/ The Unattainable Paradise (2001) Essay Prize at 7Arts Festival (Calarasi) Selected at the International Festival of Film on Art Montreal (Canada) Co-director (with Laurenţiu Damian) of several documentaries and art-films: (selection) E atat de liniste in jur / It is so still around us (1999) Prize for the Best Documentary of the Romanian Filmmaker s Union Licitatie cu suflete / Soul Auction (1997) Best Documentary Prize at the Romanian Filmmakers Union Eminescu Truda intru cuvant / Eminescu, Endeavor for the Word (1993) Awared by the Romanian Filmmakers Union (1993)
CREDITS CRULIC drumul spre dincolo CRULIC -The Path to Beyond CRULIC - le chemin vers l'au-delà A Production Aparte Film Co-produced by Fundacja im. Ferdynanda Magellana and Romanian Ministry of Culture and the Romanian Heritage/ Editura Video, Krakow Festival Office co-financed by Romanian National Centre of Cinema Polish Film Institute Krakow Regional Film Fund With the support of: HBO Romania Romanian National Television Soros Foundation Romania Producer: Anca Damian Co-producer: Arkadiusz Wojnarowski Voices: Vlad Ivanov, Jamie Sives Scriptwriter: Anca Damian Director: Anca Damian Artwork and animation: Dan Panaitescu, Raluca Popa, Dragos Stefan, Roxana Bentu, Tuliu Oltean Sound Design: Piotr Witkowski, Sebastian Włodarczyk Music: Piotr Ziubek