4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days premiered at Cannes and took the festival by storm winning the Palme D’Or. It subtly tells the story of a student helping her friend to have an illegal abortion in Communist Romania in 1987. Before the London premiere, Box Office was able to catch up with the London-based Romanian lead actress, Anamaria Marinca, to discuss the delicate themes of the film and the delicate way the film handled them.

When did you wrap up production?

We shot it in sequence actually. We started editing it as we were shooting it. This helped a lot. We shot it in December and January, this and last year.

How did you feel getting the Cannes Prize?

I'm happy about being able to share this story with so many people. That's the major thing about getting an award in cinema, it gives you the opportunity to tell this story. The story is particular and universal in the same time, this is proof of it that it touched so many people.

Is there anyone in particular who you've come across who you never imagined would see the film?

It touches human values, it touches universal problems, you know. We've said so many times, it's not a movie about abortion, it's not a movie about Communism. It's a story about human beings, at a certain place in time. We've been touring in Poland and Mexico and in both the countries, abortion is still illegal. A few days ago at the Morelia Film Festival in Mexico, someone asked me why didn't we refer more to the Communist era. You can't hear the word Communism or the name Ceaucescu, or comrade or whatever. In the beginning you just see Romania, 1987, and that's the only hint of the period of time. But then I asked them back, what if it were Morelia, 2007, would it make a difference to you? They have to face the same problems.

Do some people see the protagonists as criminals?

We had negative feedback from the Vatican, of course.

How did that come about?

We were presenting the film in Rome, and their reaction against the movie was very strong. I can't say we didn't expect that. If they would have watched it carefully they would have seen that it's not a film with pros or cons. It's not a film which is saying you should do that, it's not as simple as that. It was very difficult for us, to try and keep our personal feelings at distance, it's very difficult judging from what I say now. It's a very emotional story to play a woman who has been through that, it's a very emotional experience, you have to fight against it to be able to express emotion but not your personal feelings. It's a difference people don't always recognize, the difference between feelings and emotions.

What was it like to film? Was there a lot of emotion there?

We had to get out of that. It was lovely to be on the set. Vlad Ivanov, who plays Mr Bebe, is an absolutely adorable person, we all love him so much, that's why we were able to shoot those scenes. When I'm filming I need to be with my colleagues all the time, I can't be with anyone else. Between us there were moments of laughter and being relaxed, but the story always works in you even if you're not thinking about it any more, it's working. There was a special chemistry going on, on the set, all of us, there was such a great way of saying things. Cristian is the one who I think is responsible for creating this atmosphere. It was harmony. That was the balance we had, where the subject itself is very difficult.

Did you stay in character then?

I'm an actor who has to concentrate, I don't switch from thing to thing, I cut myself from everything else. For a scene, I need moments by myself, I need to get my thoughts together, but that's it. I was trained to do that, and when I get home at night you have to be able to sleep, after you have learned the text for the next day. It could have been so easily a melodrama, but the point is that we all understand something about human beings, about evolving, about how a day can change a lifetime, how it can all change in one day.

How present is the legacy of Communism in Romania?

It’s been twenty years now since the revolution and now we have the distance and we are calm enough to start to understand what’s happening. These are very different movies if you compare them to the films of the 90s. It’s a new generation who refuses to be sacrificed like the generations before, it is a generation with a need to be heard, and they have so many stories to tell.

Have you had any really special reactions from this film?

Yes, many. Expressions usually are very passionate and strong, people coming to us and sharing their secrets. In various situations we found ourselves being their confessors, with them coming to us, and sharing things, confessing things they probably wouldn’t tell anyone because they went through a similar thing. They buried the whole story somewhere, a long time ago, and suddenly it came back and they needed the emotion, it is very difficult to cope with that, because you are suddenly aware of the huge responsibility as an artist to be their voice. You need to understand and pay attention to every story, and we heard many, many stories like this one.

Thank you, Anamaria, for taking this time with us. Boxoffice wishes you all good things in your career.