A recording of the Q & A with IF I WANT TO WHISTLE, I WHISTLE filmmaker FLORIN SERBAN, recorded January 5, 2011, at Film Forum

Summary: IF I WANT TO WHISTLE, I WHISTLE: Romania’s official entry into this year’s Oscar competition for Best Foreign Language Film and a prize-winner in Berlin, IF I WANT TO WHISTLE, I WHISTLE, is a taut drama set in a prison for juveniles, where 18-year-old Silviu has only a few days left to his sentence. But when his beloved younger brother and their good-for-nothing mother arrive for a visit, their surprising news sets the stage for his psychic unraveling. IF I WANT TO WHISTLE… uses non-pro, juvenile offenders in many of the roles and features first-time actor George Pistereanu as a young thug whose angry persona is flecked with remarkably vulnerable and charismatic qualities, not unlike those James Dean brought to the screen. An auspicious debut feature by a director who counts Bresson and Almodovar, Bruno Dumont and Ken Loach among his influences. This podcast episode is a recording of the Q & A with filmmaker FLORIN SERBAN, recorded January 5, 2011, at Film Forum.