Florin Serban

Florin Serban is a Romanian director whose first feature film, If I Want to Whistle I Whistle, won the Jury Grand Prix and the Alfred Bauer Prize for Innovation in Cinema at the Berlin Film Festival. The drama, which Serban directed and co-wrote with Catalin Mitulescu, chronicles the relationship of a prisoner on the verge of being released and his estranged mother. Serban has also written and directed a number of short films, including “Emigrant,” “Half of the City Makes Love with the Other Half,” and “preTEXT.” Following the success of his first feature, on which he worked mostly with real inmates and non-professional actors, Serban opened The Acting School in Bucharest, Romania. At the school, former inmates and other students of diverse backgrounds learn professional acting skills.

Photo by Robin Holland