THE PHANTOM FATHER

„The stranger than paradise" Robert Traum meets in front of „Cinema Paradiso" with Sami-the-projectionist after an adventurous, mysterious and funny journey, to finally find love. Unique, yet symbolic, this is the story of an American professor who is compelled to turn his back on a successful career and get on the road that takes him through danger, the unknown and the surreal, back to the roots to reclaim his identity. 

The Phantom Father makes the portrait of a man's chimera, scared by his own mortality and the approaching old age while still hunted by his childhood phantoms. The confusion of the middle age crisis experienced by Robert Traum ("the dreamer") permeates the whole narrative structure which is based on an extended misinterpretation: of the age, geographical, cultural and linguistic. 

They are all Phantom Fathers... Stein was Barry Gifford's grandfather, while Balkanski was my father's family name before WW2. As far as Bose is concerned... Bose was one of my best friends, regarded as the most talented Romanian film director, even though he made mostly shorts and documentaries... For a long time during the first decade after the Romanian revolution, everybody eagerly waited for his feature film debut. 

Lucian Georgescu is a Romanian author and screenwriter who graduated the Letters department of the University of Bucharest (1992) and the Film Studies & Screenwriting department of the Bucharest Theatre and Film Academy (1994). He belongs to the first generation of post-Revolution filmmakers and was one of the first young Romanian film critics (Noul Cinema – 1992). 

MARCEL IURES (ROBERT TRAUM)
Marcel Iures is one of Romania's most acclaimed stage and screen actors, having starred in more than two dozen features in his native country and twice being named its best actor. His international film credits include: 

Scenariul/Written by - Lucian Georgescu, după o nuvelă de Barry Gifford (based on a novel by)
Regia/Directed by - Lucian Georgescu
Imaginea/director of Photography - Liviu Marghidan
Montajul/editing - Ioachim Stroe
Muzica/Music - Johannes Malfatti 

Robert Traum is a complete premiere for Marcel Iureș - it is his first comedic role as a protagonist (Captain Cheval from Pirates of the Caribbean doesn't count!). Actually, Marcel, who was the back bone of this film for many years – without his faith, The Phantom Father would have never been brought to life – wanted very much to play in a comedy.