Cannes Competition Entry ‘Three Kilometers’ Explores How Worlds Collide in Aftermath of Brutal Attack

The Cannes Film Festival has long been like a second home for Romanian filmmakers, and actor-turned-director Emanuel Pârvu will continue that tradition when he ascends the steps of the Lumière Theater on May 17 for the premiere of “Three Kilometers to the End of the World,” which will compete for the Palme d’Or.

Pârvu’s third feature follows 17-year-old Adi (Ciprian Chiujdea), who’s spending the summer in his hometown in the Danube Delta. As he prepares for final exams and gets ready to start a new life, Adi is brutally attacked on the street, turning his world upside-down. Suddenly, the seemingly tranquil façade of his village begins to show its cracks, as Adi finds himself at odds with the customs and mores of his community.

“Three Kilometers to the End of the World” is written by Pârvu and his longtime collaborator Miruna Berescu, who produced the film for the FAMart Assn. with the support of Romania’s National Cinema Center. Goodfellas is handling world sales.

Pârvu’s 2017 directorial debut, “Meda or the Not So Bright Side of Things,” won the prizes for best director and actor at the Sarajevo Film Festival, while his 2021 followup, “Mikado,” bowed in San Sebastian’s New Directors showcase. His acting credits include Cristian Mungiu’s Cannes award-winner “Graduation,” Bogdan George Apetri’s Venice player “Miracle” and last year’s “Familiar,” from Berlin Golden Bear winner Cãlin Peter Netzer.

Pârvu nevertheless describes “Three Kilometers” as “the most complex thing that I ever did in my life.” He and Berescu began developing the script nearly a decade ago, after hearing the horrific story of the brutal gang rape of a teenage girl in a Moldavian village. No less disturbing to the duo, however, was the attack’s aftermath. “The whole society from that village turned against the girl,” he says. “We were shocked by this reaction.”

The region that provides the setting for the film is as much a character as a backdrop; Pârvu describes the Danube Delta as “the place where the Earth ends,” an area whose “pure natural beauty” offers a stark contrast to the ugly side of human nature on display in “Three Kilometers.” The Delta is also uniquely positioned for the culture clash that erupts in the film. Isolated for much of the year, it suddenly witnesses an influx of tourists in the summer, bringing their urban mores and cosmopolitan values to a place where tradition still holds sway. Eventually, those worldviews collide.

Pârvu is preoccupied with the struggles of marginalized people, using what he calls his “privileged position” to examine and critique how society treats its most vulnerable groups. He is troubled by what he sees as a lack of understanding, both in Romania and the world at large. He hopes his film will “raise questions about how people should treat each other, about what real love is within a society and within a family,” adding: “I think we can have a better society — I think each country can have a better society if we just enter into dialogue, if we can just relate to other people’s problems. To listen to them.”

It’s a guiding principle for the director, who remains committed to the belief that each individual has the potential to make the world a better place. “I do that almost every night — I question my actions throughout the day. If I was a good man, if I did good in that day, if I really managed to help somebody,” he says. “If we are more aware of what’s happening around us, the people around us, I think we should handle their feelings and emotions with care.”