↩

Lucky Girl Syndrome

Raya al Souliman
Romania / Switzerland
14’ 14"

A self-reflecting collage made up of the director’s thoughts and moods while relocating to an alien, poetic Zurich.

Lucky Girl Syndrome can be confusing, which rarely happens in cinema anymore. Al Souliman’s film is a diaristic correspondence that she creates form Zürich for those back home, filming herself in postcard-like landscapes, narrated by a distant yet sensitive voiceover — or rather a sensitively cold one, for she doesn’t let the images consume their self-evident imagery, that implicit ‘I am well’ suggested by every postcard. She’s not well in Switzerland but wishes she were: happier, wealthier, more Swiss, more self-confident. There is no ‘but’ in al Souliman’s short (which would have been an exercise in montage), but only ‘at the same time’ (which is an exercise in composition) — everything is beautiful and at the same time not so much. (Călin Boto)

Screening date and location

September 27th, 6:30 PM, Cinemateca Eforie

Tickets

Awards & Festivals

Raya al Souliman

Raya al Souliman has graduated with BA and an MA in film directing from UNATC in Bucharest and has made several short films and video works selected at international festivals such as San Sebastian, Fresh Film Festival Prague, Un festival c’est trop court Nice, Poitiers Film Festival, Bogota Short Film Festival etc. Her artistic universe is located at the intersection between fiction and reality, exploring personal topics related to identity, intimacy and the notion of “authentic” in contemporary culture. She lives and works between Bucharest and Zurich.



  • Technical sheet
  • Production and distribution
  • Cast: Raya al Souliman
  • Director: Raya al Souliman
  • Cinematography: Horațiu Șovăială
  • Editing: Raya al Souliman
  • Sound Mix: Ioan Filip
  • Produced by: Raya al Souliman, Larisa Crunțeanu

Screens

National Competition 1

All films →

Lucky Girl Syndrome

Raya al Souliman | Duration 14’ 14"

A self-reflecting collage made up of the director’s thoughts and moods while relocating to an alien, poetic Zurich.

Bye Bye Confidence

Mădălina Zaharia | Duration 17’ 55"

Within the confines of a small south London flat, the filmmaker decides to finally say goodbye to her already lacking confidence and her friends come together to help her see this task through. Structured as a succession of informal conversations and exchanges between friends, Bye Bye Confidence opens up a space for un-mastering and un-learning expected behaviours.

On the Impossibility of an Homage

Xandra Popescu | Duration 19’

Who is responsible for the portrait, the painter or the subject? Ion Tugearu was a rockstar of ballet in Communist Romania. When discussing the possibility of a shooting, Ion is initially overjoyed. He’s been dreaming that someday there’d be a film about him. But as things progress, he finds it hard to accept the director's approach. He questions Xandra's ability to make the film happen.

The Tempest

Alex Mirutziu | Duration 14’ 36"

A film straddling the contemporary teaser culture and the legacy of Germaine Dulac’s visual style, emphasizing absolute freedom in imagery and analogies. Its brisk pace contrasts with sloppy campness, overacting, and sharp reflections on mortality and solitude. The text and voices in the film reflect a struggle for control over bodies and desires, exploring themes of permeability, the tender and pliable nature of the male physique and the satisfaction derived from the erosion of specific bodily boundaries.

Meniu →