Spoken in Romanian and Romani, the film tells the story of Rebeca, a young Roma woman who is about to leave the foster home where she grew up. She puts all her hopes in her father's release from prison, convinced that he will finally offer her a family, but she does not suspect that the path to adulthood will be harder than she imagined.

"We very rarely see Roma characters living complex human experiences, beyond stereotypes. And the stories about what it means to be a girl, a Roma and to be in the child protection system are almost non-existent. With I Matter I wanted to build a bridge towards a deeper understanding of these experiences and to tell, above all, a story about humanity," said Alina Șerban in a statement.

I Matter marks the finish line of a seven-year artistic research process carried out with young people from the social protection system. During this period, Alina Șerban made several documentary short films and theater performances with them. The script she wrote for the feature film is a mix between her personal experience and the experiences of these young people.

The cast includes Denisa Farcaș, Sorin Mihai, Angelina Pavel, Vanessa Dancea, Raisa Mihai, Juno (Alexandru Stancu), Alina Berzunțeanu, and Natalia Călin, alongside 16 children and young residents from the Casa Iosif and Casa Sara foster homes, within Ansamblul Social CreștinMăgurele in Bucharest.

The film is produced by Ada Solomon and Carla Fotea through Romania’s microFILM, Germany’s 2Pilots Filmproduction, and Belgium’s Frakas Productions, and Lemming Film, in coproduction with ZDF Das kleine Fernsehspiel, Lemming Film Belgium, Avanpost Media, Orange & Be tv, Proximus, Shelter Prod, and the Romanian Public Television (TVR).

It was supported by the Romanian Film Centre (CNC), the Government of Romania, Creative Europe MEDIA, Film-und Medienstiftung NRW, Film and Audiovisual Centre of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, Tax Shelter Programme of the Belgian Federal Government, Tax shelter.be & ING, and The Belgian Development Cooperation, in association with ZDF/ARTE.

The budget was approximately 1.7 m EUR.

Romanian producer Ada Solomon spoke to FNE about the relevance of the project and its selection in Venice: “I am used to take challenges, being them backing up emerging talents or bringing to screen untold stories. I Matter is beyond the usual challenges, it’s a premiere in terms of bringing to an A class festival a feature film made by a Roma woman filmmaker. I am extremely grateful to the festival for putting into spotlight this perspective and honoured that I had the chance to contribute to the creation of Alina’s inspiring and relevant film.”

I Matter was shot for 31 shooting days in September-November 2025, and it will be released in Romania early 2027.

Alina Șerban graduated from Tisch School of theArts (New York), the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art – RADA (London), and UNATC Bucharest. She won Best Actress at the German Actors Association Awards for her role in Hüseyin Tabak’s Gipsy Queen (2019). In 2024, she was decorated by the President of Romania with the Order of Cultural Merit, in the rank of Knight. She is the first Roma film and theater director in Romania and, for over a decade, she has been developing artistic projects dedicated to children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, as well as Roma communities.

Alina Șerban’s previous selection in Venice was as an actor in Goran Stolevski’s Housekeeping for Beginners, selected in Venice in the Orizzonti competition in 2023. Housekeeping for Beginners / Domakinstvo za pocetnici (North Macedonia, Poland, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo) was produced by List Production, Madants, Kinorama, Sense Production, and Industria Film, and coproduced by Film i Väst, Common Ground Pictures, and Causeway Films, in association with Tango, New Europe Film Sales, and the Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund.

Production Information:

Producers:
microFILM (Romania)
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2Pilots Filmproduction (Germany)
FrakasProductions (Belgium)

Coproducers:
ZDF Das kleineFernsehspiel (Germany)
Lemming Film (Belgium)
Avanpost Media (Romania)
Orange & Be tv
Proximus
Shelter Prod
Romanian Public Television (TVR) (Romania)

Credits:
Director: Alina Șerban
Scriptwriter: Alina Șerban
DoP: Nona Cătușanu
Editor: Letiția Ștefănescu
Production designer: Andreea Popa
Costume designer: Dana Anghel
Composer: Vlaicu Golcea
Sound: Quentin Jacques, Lise Bouchez, Jean Stephane Garbe
Cast: Denisa Farcaș, Sorin Mihai, Angelina Pavel, Vanessa Dancea, Raisa Mihai, Juno (Alexandru Stancu), Alina Berzunțeanu, Natalia Călin