Venice-Bound ‘Milk Teeth’ – World Sales at Cercamon
>## “Milk Teeth” – A haunting Reflection of Romania’s Past Premieres at Venice Film Festival
Venice, Italy – August 18, 2025 – Romanian filmmaker Mihai Mincan‘s deeply personal and emotionally resonant new film, “Milk Teeth,” will have its world premiere in the Horizons competition at the Venice film Festival. the film, brought to the international stage by sales company Cercamon, offers a stark and unforgettable portrait of childhood during the final days of Nicolae Ceausescu’s dictatorship in 1989.
“Milk Teeth” centers on 10-year-old Maria, who becomes the last witness to her sister’s mysterious disappearance in a small, isolated Romanian town. Caught between the harsh realities of political oppression and the burgeoning hope of a ”new world” on the cusp of the 1990s, Maria embodies a generation of children whose voices were often unheard.
Mincan, drawing from his own experiences, intentionally avoids nostalgia, instead focusing on the tension, fear, and confusion that defined childhood during this tumultuous period.”Thinking about those days, when I was a child and Romania was about to change its identity from Socialism to democracy, I realised not only that childhood had nothing ‘beautiful,’ ‘pure’ or ‘naive.’ But in contrast, in its tension, its sense of fear and confusion, we can find a reflection of our world today,” he explained.
the film stars Emma Ioana Mogos, Marina Pali, Igor Babiac, and Istvan Teglas.
Sebastien Chesneau, CEO at Cercamon, expressed his enthusiasm for the project, stating, “We were promptly drawn to the bold vision of ‘Milk Teeth’ and the emotional depth of its characters. Mihai Mincan delivers a striking film that speaks to universal themes through a uniquely Eastern European lens. We’re proud to represent such a powerful and resonant work.”
“Milk Teeth” is a collaborative effort, produced by deFilm (Romania) in coproduction with Strom Pictures (denmark), Studio Bauhaus (Greece), and Screening Emotions (Bulgaria).The project received support from the Romanian National Film Center,France’s CNC,the Danish Film Institute,and Bulgaria’s National Film Center.
this film promises to be a powerful and moving experience, offering a glimpse into a pivotal moment in romanian history through the eyes of a child. It’s a story of loss, resilience, and the enduring search for truth in a world undergoing profound change.