When he was at high school, a young Radu Ghelbereu experienced tragedy when one of his friends died on the way to buy a suit for his prom. While Ghelbereu was obviously saddened that he’d never see his friend again, this difficult scenario stayed with him until he used it as inspiration for his graduation film at The London Film School.
Going by the title of KM73, the short follows Dan and Cristi, whose sons are best friends, as they head to the police station. During the drive, Dan tries to find the courage to tell the whole truth to Cristi about his son’s accident and the real reason for this long drive. Writer and Director Ghelbereu’s aim was that the truth would slowly be revealed to both the characters and the audience, allowing the latter to live and experience alongside the former.
Despite drawing on the death of a friend, Ghelbereu didn’t want the film to be about his friend. “I wanted to use this situation to explore ideas about human nature and truth. I personally am not as interested in the extraordinary of an accident, as I am about the norm, the every day and every one, mediated by these ‘accidents’.”
KM73 has been screened at several festivals, including the prestigious Locarno Film Festival, the Festival du cinéma européen en Essonne, the Anonimul International Independent Film Festival and the Festival Les Enfants Terribles, while it will go on to the Leuven International Short Film Festival this December. However, by far the short film’s greatest achievement to date was when it won the In Memoriam Simo Sandor Award at the Alternative International Short Film Festival earlier this November.
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Written by Ben Corbett
Photo Credit: Mihai Marius Apopei