17/01/2023 - Bogdan Theodor Olteanu’s comedy is the first domestic film to be released by Romania’s leading distributor, Forum Film

After directing two features centring on women, Several Conversations about a Very Tall Girl (2018) and Mia Misses Her Revenge [+see also:
trailer
interview: Bogdan Theodor Olteanu
film profile] (2020), Romanian director Bogdan Theodor Olteanu is getting ready for a January release for his first comedy, Taxi Drivers. The film is being staged by Cristian Anastasiu through Bold Film Studio, while Anamaria Antoci and Vlad Rădulescu are co-producing through their respective production companies, Tangaj Production and Avanpost Media.

The screenplay was written by Olteanu and Adrian Nicolae, and is based on a play of the same title which was first performed in 2018. The story follows Lică (Alexandru Ion) and Liviu (Rolando Matsangos), two taxi drivers working in Bucharest. Over the course of one night that proves to be more eventful that they would have wished, they meet a plethora of supporting characters, including gangsters and local celebrities, in a string of misadventures that will have an unexpected impact on their lives.

Made exclusively with private funds, Taxi Drivers was shot in Bucharest over several weeks in September and October last year. Mihai Apopei is the DoP. Andi Vasluianu, Monica Bârlădeanu, Maria Popistaşu and Cosmin Nedelcu (the latter now being one of the hottest names in the Romanian film industry after Teambuilding, a comedy that he co-directed and starred in, exceeded one million admissions – see the news) play secondary characters.

Explaining his approach to the film’s main topic, Olteanu tells Cineuropa, “Taxi drivers are an easy target for bad jokes, classism and even racism, as we now live in a culture where a provider of services is not expected to have a history, identity, personal life or personal issues. Our taxi drivers, Lică and Liviu, are two colourful, funny characters, who accompany us through life in Bucharest after dark. We laugh with them and at them, but soon, we start to glimpse the frustrations that lie behind their machismo and aggressiveness. Taxi Drivers is not a black comedy; it is a grey one,” the director and screenwriter says.

Interestingly, Taxi Drivers is the first Romanian film to be released by the country’s leading distributor, Forum Film Romania, which, as the official distributor of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures flicks, has dominated local cinemas over the last five weeks with Avatar: The Way of Water. Andreea Zidaru, the company’s manager, tells Cineuropa, “Taxi Drivers is the project that Forum Film Romania had been waiting for long before getting involved in the distribution of local films. The story is timely, the dialogue is authentic, and the stellar cast play iconic characters. It is that rare kind of film that can convince both the mass audience and sophisticated viewers. And we expect packed venues, as the humour is accessible and memorable, with one-liners that may very well go ‘viral’ and be used in day-to-day conversations,” Zidaru explains.

Taxi Drivers will be released domestically on 20 January.