Variety Reviews Florin Șerban's 'You Don't Belong Here' Ahead of Locarno Premiere
Florin Șerban's latest film You Don't Belong Here has received its first major trade review, with Variety praising the Romanian director's command of the camera while taking aim at the film's dialogue and ending.
The film, produced by Viacolvento and Rai Cinema, is set for its world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival as part of the 2026 official selection (Variety; ICS Film). Variety published its review on 14 August 2026.
Șerban directed, produced, wrote, and edited the film — a hands-on role that few film-makers take on across all four crafts. He is best known for Box and If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle, the latter of which won an award at the Berlinale in 2010.
The story is set in Reșița, a small city in western Romania, and opens with Mahler's 3rd Symphony. Adrian Văncică stars as Dr. Marius, a surgeon and hospital director who discovers that his teenage son Ioan is a racist who killed a Roma man. The cast includes Teodor Butănescu as Ioan, Tudor Vîrgă as Tudor, Alex Conovaru as Silviu, Cristina Richter as Dana, and Izdrailă Janir as the dead man's son. Liviu Mărghidan served as cinematographer.
The Variety review highlights a tension at the heart of the film. Șerban's direction draws praise, but the critic finds the dialogue airless — long pauses between lines that drain the scenes of air rather than building tension. The mostly fixed camera, allergic to close-ups, is cited as another point of friction. And the finale is described as misguided, pulling the film off course after the strength of its earlier passages.
The Romanian-language title is Nu e locul tau aici, and the film is a Romanian-language production. It marks Șerban's return to the festival circuit after more than a decade of work that has established him as one of Romania's most watched directors.
Locarno, held each August in Switzerland, is one of the older film festivals on the international circuit and a key showcase for auteur cinema. The world premiere there gives You Don't Belong Here its first exposure to buyers, critics, and festival programmers before any wider release is set.
For Șerban, the review is a mixed signal from an influential trade outlet. The praise for his direction confirms the craft that earned him recognition in Berlin sixteen years ago. The criticism of the dialogue and finale suggests the film may divide opinion as it moves from Locarno into the wider festival and distribution conversation.
