Self-portrait of a Dutiful Daughter

For the first time, 30-year-old PhD student Cristiana has the freedom of an adult when her parents move and she takes over their old apartment. She gingerly feels her way in this new ‘space’ – literally and metaphorically. She can smoke as much as she likes, re-hangs her parents’ art and starts an affair with a married man.
Director Ana Lungu took inspiration for Self-Portrait of a Dutiful Daughter from her own experiences and her strong bond with her parents. By casting her own father and mother as Cristiana’s parents, she interweaves fact and fiction to create an authentic framework for Cristiana’s modest victories in her struggle for independence. ‘I like to work with amateurs … with all the defects that make them more alive, more humane.’ The condescending attitude of Cristiana’s father and friends is diametrically opposed to her growth, which becomes more explicit in each scene. And finally challenging.

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