Roma Filmmaker Alina Șerban Makes History at Venice With ‘I Matter’
A film described as the first by a Roma woman selected for an A-list festival will have its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival on 8 September. Alina Șerban wrote and directed I Matter (Eu Contez), her feature debut, drawing on her own life to tell the story of a young Roma woman navigating identity and belonging (The Hollywood Reporter).
The film screens in the Venezia Spotlight section, a programme within the 83rd Venice festival's official selection that sits alongside the main competition and other sidebars (La Biennale di Venezia). Venice's own lineup page lists I Matter as the first film from a Roma director to screen in its festival section (The Hollywood Reporter). The festival's public schedule puts the screening on 9 September at 08:45 in the Sala Giardino, with admission by ticket (La Biennale di Venezia).
Șerban's story follows Rebeca, a young Roma girl on the verge of leaving the orphanage she called home. She hopes her father's release from prison will give her the family she has always longed for, and she is accepted into university to study acting. Denisa Farcaș stars as Rebeca. The cast includes Sorin Mihai, Angelina Pavel, Vanessa Dancea, Raisa Mihai, Alexandru Stancu, Alina Berzunțeanu and Natalia Călin. Radu Voinea handled cinematography; Ion Ioachim Stroe edited (The Hollywood Reporter).
The production spans several countries. Ada Solomon's microFILM leads, with 2PilotsFilmproduction and Frakas Productions, in coproduction with ZDF – Das kleine Fernsehspiel (a German public broadcaster's arthouse slot) in association with ARTE, Lemming Film Belgium, Avanpost Media, Orange & Be tv, Proximus, Shelter Prod and Romanian Television. Berlin-based Pluto Film is handling international sales — the arm that licenses the film to distributors territory by territory — and secured a sales deal ahead of the premiere (Deadline).
The Hollywood Reporter exclusively unveiled a first-look clip and the film's poster on 27 August (The Hollywood Reporter).
For a festival that has programmed cinema for over nine decades, the arrival of a Roma woman director in its official selection is a first that carries weight beyond a single screening slot. Venice remains one of the three major autumn festivals — alongside Toronto and San Sebastián — where sales agents and distributors converge to acquire films for theatrical and streaming release in the months that follow. Where I Matter travels after the Lido will be decided in those conversations.
