A special screening of the documentary "Popas Imperial/Imperial Stopover", directed by Cristian Radu Nema and Mimis Ravanis and dedicated to composer Ciprian Porumbescu is scheduled for August 2, during the 15th edition of the Festival of Romanian Movie Soirées (SFR).

According to Cristian Radu Nema, the film on a script by Bianca Beatrice Michi and starring Paul Diaconescu in the lead role, brings before the eyes of the audience the fantastic realm of 1880 Vienna, from the composer's student period.

"The human touch residing in the privacy of every genius personality, whether they are an actor, composer or writer, is perhaps the strongest and most fascinating of their attributes. And we all have it, but hidden behind creations or works that are untouchable other than by dream. Larger-than-life Ciprian Porumbescu, in his turn, has this tender human core that we closely discover and that takes us into the fascinating world of his universal creations," Cristian Radu Nema declared for AGERPRES .

He added that the film is part of a large cultural and cinematographic effort titled "Monuments for the Heroes of Romanian Culture", which also includes the films dedicated to national poet Mihai Eminescu ("The Trunk", 2019), philosopher Alexandru Surdu ("The Young Recluse", 2021), the Phoenix phenomenon and band founder Nicolae Covaci ("PHOENIX - The Story", 2022), which were given an enthusiastic reception by Romanian audiences and not only.

Bianca Beatrice Michi mentioned in her turn that "without claiming to rebuild the Viennese atmosphere of the second half of the 19th century, the documentary captures images that must have been etched on the retina and in the mind of the young musician in their original simplicity, images that take shape from Porumbescu's vast correspondence with his family".

The film comes to honor the 170th anniversary of Ciprian Porumbescu's birth and the 140th anniversary of the publication of Eminescu's poem "Luceafarul/The Evening Star" in the almanac of the Romania Juna Society (April 1883, Vienna).

The film premiered in Brasov, the city where Porumbescu was a music teacher and conductor of the choir of the St. Nicholas Church in Schei, with cultural and academic personalities as well as descendants of the Golembiovschi-Porumbescu family attending.

The documentary was produced as part of the cultural project "B.A.L. - Artistic and Literary Brasov", which also saw the first edition of the Viennese Ball in Brasov - "Walz for change".

The anniversary edition of the Romanian Movie Soirées will run from July 31 to August 4 in Iasi, featuring movie previews and premieres, guests and special moments dedicated to those who have made a contribution to Romanian theater and cinematography. AGERPRES (RO - author: Petronius Craiu, editor: Claudia Stanescu; EN - editor: Simona Klodnischi)