BUCHAREST: Greek director Konstantina Kotzamani’s debut feature Titanic Ocean, which was partially filmed in Romania as a Romanian minority coproduction through deFilm, has been acquired by Paradise City Sales (formerly Memento International) ahead of its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard competition of the 79th Cannes Film Festival (12 – 23 May 2026).
“I am extremely happy that Titanic Ocean, written and directed by Konstantina Kotzamani, has been selected for Un Certain Regard. Last year deFilm was present in the same section with I Only Rest in the Storm, and that makes this moment even more special. Personally, this project is a new level of maturity in international coproductions and one of the most important where Romania took part in, with a real implication on both creative and technical levels, from the shooting in Japan to the postproduction made mostly in Romania”, said producer Radu Stancu.
The Romanian team included coproducers Radu Stancu and Ioana Lascar, sound designer and music superviser Marius Leftǎrache, postproduction supervisor Carmen Rizac, as well as Sebastian Plămădeală and associate producer Vlad Rădulescu.
The film shot in Japan and Romania was produced by HomemadeFilms (Greece) in coproduction with Wunderlust (Germany), deFilm (Romania), Manny Films (France), Frida Films (Spain), Happinet Phantom Studios, and Mam Film (Japan), Bayerischer Rundfunk, ERT, Vodafone TV, and Onassis Culture, and in association with Quiddity and Finite Films (UK), Felony (Cyprus), ARTE, Avanpost Media (Romania).
It was supported by Eurimages, the Romanian Film Centre (CNC), FFA, Film-und Medienstiftung NRW, the French CNC, Île-de-France, The CNC and the GFC – French-Greel Co-Production Fund, the Romanian Government, Media Investment Communication, Institut Català de les Empreses Culturals Generalitat de Catalunya, Creative Europe MEDIA, the Romanian Public Television (TVR), Xunta de Galicia.
This coming-of-age film explores themes like metamorphosis, desire and finding your inner voice by placing its story in Japanese schools where young girls are trained to become professional syrens.
In 2025, Cléo Diára won Best Actress at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard for her role in I Only Rest in the Storm / O riso e a faca. A coproduction between Portugal, Romania, France, and Brazil, Pedro Pinho’s work was produced by Uma Pedra no Sapato, and Terratreme Filmes, in coproduction with deFilm, Still Moving, and Bubbles Project.
Currently, deFilm is in various stages of production and development with Playtopia (2027) by Bara Jichova Tyson, Magnum Opus (2027) by Bogdan Mirică, Frosty Blue Forget-Me-Nots (2027) by Cristina Haneș, El Dorado (2028) by Nicolas van Hemelryck and Clare Weiskopf, and One Hand Jesus (2028) by Bogdan Mirică.
