Director's Bio-Filmography:
Liviu Tipuriță este regizor și producător. A lucrat mai mult de 20 de ani pentru programe TV de top dedicate filmului documentar, în Marea Britanie și SUA. Este câștigătorul a numeroase premii internaționale și nominalizat la BAFTA. Născut și crescut la Sibiu, Liviu a plecat la vârsta de 20 de ani în Marea Britanie, unde locuiește și lucrează și în prezent.
Director's / Curator's Statement:
„I love Gypsy music. Ever since I was a child I’ve been listening to it obsessively, feverishly searching for new musicians, new tunes. I love its chromatic richness, the outbursts of passion, its impetuosity. I am a sucker for that mixture of soulfulness with unbridled joy. This is why when my friend Caliu, the lead violinist of Taraf de Haiduci, told me this music was being killed by ‹Manele›, I became very concerned. Until then I’d never paid much attention to Manele. I had never been a fan of pop electronic beats. I wasn’t even sure whether it was Gypsy music. It sounded more Turkish, Oriental. Who were these people "destroying" the music I loved? This question became the starting point of my film. I spent two years slowly immersing myself into the world of Manele. It was probably one of the most difficult films I’ve ever made. At times it was dangerous, at times madly frustrating, and…I nearly went deaf a few times! After wrapping the filming, I found myself stuck in the traffic on my way to Bucharest airport. By now, I had over 300 hours of footage. How on Earth was I going to make a one-hour film out of all that material? I had no idea. But I was happy. My car was blasting, windows literally vibrating with a song played at full volume. A great tune I had just discovered -‹A Iesit Soarele Din Nori› (‹The Sun Is Out of the Clouds›). Florin Salam’s latest Manele hit!“ (Liviu Tipuriță)