- Born
- Calin Peter Netzer was born on the 1st May 1975 in Petrosani [Petroschen], Romania. His family belongs to the Transylvanian Saxons, a cultural minority of German descent who lives since generations in Romania. He was raised mainly in Cluj [Klausenburg]. Netzer's father was a dentist and emigrated to West-Germany in 1981, while Netzer's mother and he himself followed in 1983. He went to school in Stuttgart, but returned to Romania after the revolution in December 1989. From 1994 to 1999 Netzer studied at the 'National University of Theatre and Film I.L. Caragiale (UNATC)' in Bucharest and graduated with a diploma in film direction. Netzer directed multiple award-winning short films before his feature film debut Maria (2003) won the 'Special Prize of the Jury', 'Best Actor' and 'Best Actress' at the 'Locarno International Film Festival' 2003 among many other awards. His next feature Medalia de onoare (2009) received the Silver Alexander award, the FIPRESCI prize and the awards for 'Best Screenplay' and 'Best Actor' at the 'Thessaloniki International Film Festival' in 2009 among many other honors. In 2013 his third feature Child's Pose (2013), which was directed, written and produced by Netzer and shot digitally on a low budget, was invited into the 'Official Competition' of the 'Berlin International Film Festival' where it won the 'Golden Bear' award and the FIPRESCI prize. It was the first Romanian film to win the top award of the Berlinale and internationally celebrated as a new masterpiece of the Romanian New Wave.
- IMDb mini biography by: Anonymous
- He graduated from the 'National University of Theatre and Film I.L. Caragiale (UNATC)' in Bucharest, Romania. Established in 1954 and named after classic Romanian playwright Ion Luca Caragiale (1852-1912), the public university has faculties for theatre and film and offers programs in Directing, Acting, Cinematography, Editing, Sound, Audiovisual Communication and Multimedia. Graduates include Corneliu Porumboiu, Radu Muntean, Cristian Mungiu, Florin Serban, Adina Pintilie, Oleg Mutu, Mihai Malaimare Jr., Marius Panduru, Cosmina Stratan and George Pistereanu.
- Speaks German, English and Romanian fluently.
- Lives in Bucharest, Romania.
- President of the 'Official Competition' jury at the 21st Sarajevo International Film Festival in 2015.
- Member of the 'Official Competition' jury at the 8th Beijing International Film Festival in 2018.
- [on his biography] In 1981 my father visited a congress as a dentist in West-Germany and decided to stay; my mother and I followed him in 1983. I probably never really got used to it [living in Germany] and always asked myself if it wouldn't be better to return to Romania. After I graduated [in Stuttgart] I went to Bucharest to study, in spite of my parents wishes, that I should rather study in Berlin or Munich or even in America, in Los Angeles or New York. But I didn't want to live in another country one more time. It already had been a traumatic experience for me as a child to come from Romania to Germany. (...) I grew up in Cluj, the Transylvanian city of Klausenburg, which is in the north of the country [Romania]. The cultural influence of Germany and the former Austro-Hungarian Empire is still strongly visible there, far more than in Bucharest, which is in the south of Romania. In Germany I was seen as a Romanian immigrant and when I returned [to Romania] I was seen there as a German. Since I didn't return to my homeland [Transylvania], but went instead to the main capital [Bucharest], it took me a few years anyway to feel comfortable and to call it my home.
- [on the Romanian New Wave] It's a competition between us, and we inspire one another, for sure. Cristian Mungiu's first film, Occident (2002), was treated in a very classical way, and it was like cinema of the '60s. And his second film, which won the Palme d'Or, was like a minimalistic film of the New Wave. And he got inspired, of course, by Cristi Puiu, who did The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005). So did Radu Muntean and Corneliu Porumboiu.
- [on the Romanian New Wave] I think there is a wave. It really started with Cristi Puiu's The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005). Then Cristian Mungiu changes his point of view on cinema, because his first film, Occident (2002), was something else, and he approached cinema in a different way after that. And Corneliu Porumboiu [12:08 East of Bucharest (2006)] as well. So I think there is both a movement and a leader, in Puiu.
- I grew up in Germany. I liked going to the movies, but my friends and my colleagues didn't. On the weekends, I would go alone to the movies. I went to two or three every week. I liked to be in the cinemas and enter other worlds, to escape the reality. Then it became an obsession and a dream to be part of this and to be a filmmaker.
- [on directing Child's Pose (2013)] When the cinematographer [Andrei Butică] and I made a color correction, I gave him the freedom to do it by himself. This was a process I applied to the whole making of this movie. For example, we shot a lot of material because we had only 30 days for shooting. We had two digital cameras, so we [had them] running nonstop and I gave the editor the freedom to make the first versions of the cut. Also during shooting, the [cinematographer] and the cameraman, I left them the freedom to [roam with] the camera and show what they are interested in. (...) It was an exercise because the story was very close to me. I wanted to break loose, otherwise I thought I would be too subjective, too focused on that. Normally, I'm a control freak.
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