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 But after fighting with crew on set early on in her career,
Solomon, now a producer of some of Romania's most
internationally renowned films, took the advice of an assistant
director that she would get farther by staying calm and treating
them as partners.
"It was perhaps the first lesson in movie production I ever
got," Solomon told Reuters at the office of her production
company, HiFilm. "Since then, this is how I've functioned with
my teams."
Today, Solomon is one of Europe's leading film producers and the
woman behind some of the most critically acclaimed dramas of
recent years, including Berlinale winners "Child's Pose" and "Aferim!"
and the Oscar-nominated "Toni Erdmann."
She is also at the forefront of an increasing number of female
producers and directors working in Romania at a time when more
established film industries are struggling with issues of
diversity and inclusion.
The increasing role of women in Romania's film industry is being
showcased at the Making Waves Romanian Film Festival taking
place in New York until Dec. 5.
Now in its 13th year, the festival is devoting a section to
films directed by women, including this year's Berlin Golden
Bear winner "Touch Me Not," an exploration of intimacy by Adina
Pintilie, as well as the thriller "Moon Hotel Kabul", which won
Anca Damian the best director prize at the Warsaw International
Film Festival. Ten out of the festivals' 17 films were produced
by Solomon.
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The former communist country has emerged as a powerhouse of cinema
over the last two decades and much has been made about the Romanian
New Wave, a genre of naturalistic and unflinching films that have
been consistently winning top prizes such as the Palme d'Or in
Cannes and awards at the Berlin and Venice festivals.
"Over the last two years or so, the number of female directors has
grown visibly," said Anca Damian, who first won praise for her 2011
animated feature "Crulic – the Path to Beyond."
"You can feel the wind of change. A decade ago, a woman had to make
films for children. There were moments when you felt like you didn't
exist in the film community, you were just transparent," she said.
"But I've always felt that what I wanted to say has pushed me
forward."
Documentary filmmaker Mona Nicoara said Romania's economic growth,
which has potentially made funding more accessible also helped.
There are more women working in the industry overall, from editors
and cinematographers to camera operators and set designers.
"Barriers that used to exist are no longer in place, there used to
be few female directors, few women in general in the industry," said
Nicoara, whose documentary about the dissident poet Nina Cassian
features at Making Waves.
(Reporting by Luiza Ilie, editing by Louise Heavens)
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