“Catane” Debuts at SEEfest: A Satirical Portrait of Rural Romania

“Catane” centers on twin girls in a Romanian mountain village who braid their hair together. The community claims disabilities to secure government benefits. Inspectors arrive to verify the claims, meeting a myopic man with magnifying lenses, a man with an animal hoof, a couple communicating by head jerks, and a woman with bubo-like growths.

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Development of “Catane” spanned a decade, with rejections and a refusal of offers from major producers who wanted to reshape it as a drama. Funding was eventually secured. Location scouting lasted a year, leading to a village in the Apuseni Mountains of Transylvania, Alba County, because other villages were modernized or empty. The crew reported hospitality and a desire to stay.

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Director Ioana Mischie wrote the script, which earned recognition at Berlinale Talents and Sundance Workshop and won Best Script at the Manaki Script Lab in North Macedonia and the Fest Pitching Forum in Portugal. Composer Emiliano Mazzenga created the score, nominated for Best Original Score (Independent Film – Foreign Language) at Hollywood Music in Media Awards. In Romanian theaters the film has attracted roughly 10,000 spectators, generating audience reactions.

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Mischie describes the film as a poetic, humorous satire that celebrates community resilience, invoking the Romanian saying “face haz de necaz”—making fun of hardship. The story juxtaposes bureaucratic scrutiny with whimsical village life, prompting comparisons to Wes Anderson while emphasizing a uniquely Romanian paradox of spirituality, humor, and cultural identity.

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Mischie said the film seeks a hero’s journey that lifts audiences through humor. SEEfest founder Vera Mijojlic praised it as a “lovely fairytale, a gift to all of us.” Composer Emiliano Mazzenga explained his use of village instruments and occasional Indian music to create a magical tone. A government official noted the red flag raised when all villagers claimed disabilities.

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• “All of the residents of Catane village claimed they have disabilities,” a government official reported. — Government official

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• “A lot of people in Romania said the film reminded them of Wes Anderson,” — Ioana Mischie, Director

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• “It’s really a lovely fairytale, a gift to all of us,” — Vera Mijojlic, SEEfest founder

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• “We have this word in the Romanian village — it’s called a face haz de necaz which means no matter how harsh reality is for you, you just make fun out of it.” — Ioana Mischie, Director

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• “The idea was at first you use all the instruments that you could find actually in the village,” — Emiliano Mazzenga, Composer

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The film will continue on the festival circuit for roughly a year while the team seeks a U.S. distributor and hopes for a theatrical release in the United States.

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