Lemonade

They say when life hands you lemons, make lemonade. This story, inspired by real events, reveals the true taste of the American Dream.

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Synopsis

While working in the US on a temporary visa as a caretaker, Mara, a 30 year-old single mother from Romania, marries Daniel, an American. After the arrival of her son Dragos, everything seems to have fallen perfectly into place. When the process of getting a green card veers unexpectedly off course, however, Mara is faced with abuses of power on every level and forced to answer a dark question about herself – how far would you go to get what you want?

The lead role, Mara, is played by Malina Manovici (Graduation, 2016) and this first feature by Ioana Uricaru is produced by Palme d'Or winner Cristian Mungiu.

'Manovici’s performance, clouding her ingenue-like appearance with flashes of hard-lived savvy, keep the drama on edge'
VARIETY

'Built around an excellent, harrowingly sensitive lead performance by Malina Manovici, it was one of the standout world premieres at this year's Berlinale where its combination of quiet style and provocative content played well with audiences.'
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

'A new voice in Romanian cinema, Ioana Uricaru, explores a topic unfamiliar to the so-called local New Wave'
CINEUROPA

'Manovici delivers a sensitive and convincing performance'
CINEVUE

'Lemonade marks the emergence of a quietly compelling new voice'
Frédéric Boyer, programmer of Tribeca FF

'Lemonade denounces bigotry, xenophobia and a bureaucratic immigration system subjected to personal whims'
DIRTY MOVIES

'Culturally rich, relevant and realist'
EAST EUROPEAN FILM BULLETIN

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Details

Director: Ioana Uricaru
Genre: Drama
English title: Lemonade
Country of production: Romania, Canada, Germany, Sweden
Year of production: 2018
Length: 88 min
Color: colour
Shooting format: 2.8K Anamorphic
Screening format: DCP 2K (2048x858) (1:2,39; 5.1, un-encrypted)
Original language: English, Romanian
Subtitles: English

Cast: Mălina Manovici, Steve Bacic, Dylan Scott Smith, Milan Hurduc, Ruxandra Maniu
Scriptwriter: Ioana Uricaru & Tatiana Ionascu
Director of photography: Friede Clausz
Editor: Mircea Olteanu
Sound design: Kai Tebbel
Producers: Cristian Mungiu, Tudor Reu, Yanick Létourneau, Eike Goreczka, Christoph Kukula, Arne Kohlweyer, Sean Wheelan
Co-producers: Anthony Muir
Production company: Mobra Films, Peripheria, 42film, Filmgate Films
Co-production company: Film i Väst
Supported by: Centrul National al Cinematografiei, Eurimages, Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung, Telefilm, Société de développement des industries culturelles - Québec, SODEC - Crédits d’impôts - Québec, CAVCO, Film i Väst, Creative Europe Programme - MEDIA of the Europea

Film poster

Festivals / Awards

Berlinale Panorama, Germany – World Premiere
Tribeca FF, USA – International Narrative Competition
goEast FF, Germany
Netia OFF Camera, Poland – Main Competition
Jeonju IFF, South Korea – International Competition
Diaspora IFF, South Korea
Seattle IFF, USA
Provincetown FF, USA
FEST – New Directors, New Films Festival, Portugal – Golden Lynx for Best Feature Film
Jerusalem FF, Israel – International Debuts Competition
Film and Art Festival Two Riversides, Poland
Fünf Seen Filmfestival, Germany – Perspective Young Cinema Award
Sarajevo FF, Bosnia & Herzegovina – Heart of Sarajevo Award for Best Director
Taoyuan FF, Taiwan
Dunav Film Fest Smederevo, Serbia – Danube 2860 for The Best Film
IFF Film by the Sea, The Netherlands
Oostende FF, Belgium – UFK-UCC Press Award
Cinematik IFF Piešťany, Slovakia
International Women’s Film Festival of Salé, Morocco – Grand Prix
Ars Independent FF, Poland – Black Horse for the Best Film
Bergen IFF, Norway
Jagran IFF, India
RAVAC IFF, Moldova – Best Film
Festival Indépendances et Création, France
CinEast FF, Luxembourg
Atmosphères Festival, France
São Paulo IFF, Brazil – New Directors Competition
Festival du Nouveau Cinema Montreal, Canada – International Competition
Mill Valley IFF, USA
Vermont IFF, USA – New England Quebec Regional Competition
Les Films de Cannes à Bucarest, Romania
Cambridge FF, UK
Thessaloniki IFF, Greece
St. Louis International Film Festival, USA
Los Cabos IFF, Mexico – Official Competition
Stockholm IFF, Sweden
European Film Forum Scanorama, Lithuania
AFI Fest, USA – New Auteurs Competition
Seville European Film Festival, Spain
International Crime & Punishment FF, Turkey – International Golden Scale Feature Film Competition
Segovia European FF, Spain
AFI Washington, USA
Golden Scale – Best Feature Fim Award
Human Rights FF, Zürich
Kerala IFF, India
Premiers Plans Film Festival, France
First Hainan International FilmFestival, China
Bengaluru FF, India
Sofia IFF, Bulgaria
Sun Valley Film Festival, USA - The One in a Million Award
Febio Fest, Czech Republic
Europe on Screen, Indonesia
Moscow IFF, Russia
Shanghai FF, China
Guwahati IFF, India
Fine Arts International Film Festival, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico
BASTAU International Student and Debut FF, Kazakhstan
MUCES, Spain