On Our Own

DUTCH PREMIERE

Left alone while her parents work abroad, a self-reliant fourteen-year-old sees a chance to build the family she is missing when two runaway siblings enter her life. 

Flavia, a sharp and self-reliant teenager, lives alone in a small Romanian town after her parents left to work in Italy. Forced into adulthood at fourteen, she has learned to survive through sarcasm and emotional distance. When she discovers that her parents are divorcing, the fragile balance she has built begins to crack. After two runaway siblings enter her life, Flavia embraces the possibility of creating a surrogate family. But when they leave, she is confronted with the limits of her longing and the emotional void left by the absent loved ones. Inspired by Romania’s 150,000 children with parents abroad, the film explores adolescence, resilience, and the lasting impact of migration.

SCREENINGS

Friday 6 November 16:00
Sunday 8 November 12:30

Programme section(s): Cinema Current
Original title: De capul nostru | Year: 2026 | Runtime: 95′
Country: Romania, Italy | Language: Romanian | Subtitles: English
Cast: Denisa Vraja, Vlad Furtună, Mara Diaconu Ducica, Dominique Toma
Director: Tudor Cristian Jurgiu​ | Production: Tudor Giurgiu, Bogdan Crăciun – Libra Films; Indyca | Screenplay: Tudor Cristian Jurgiu​, Anca Buja​ | Cinematography: Andrei Butică | Editing: Alexandru Popescu, Roxana Szel | Sound: Riccardo Nanni

FESTIVALS & AWARDS (SELECTION) 

Berlin International Film Festival, 2026 – World Premiere, CICAE Arthouse Cinema Award | Transilvania International Film Festival, 2026 | Valencia International Film Festival, Cinema Jove, 2026 | Jerusalem Film Festival, 2026 | Les Films de Cannes à Bucarest, 2024 – Work in Progress Award

DIRECTOR’S BIO 

Born in Mediaș, Romania, in 1984, Tudor Cristian Jurgiu studied film directing at the National University of Drama and Film in Bucharest, where he later completed an MA and a PhD and now teaches scriptwriting and directing. His short films have screened and won awards at major international festivals, including Cannes, Leeds IFF and Zagreb Film Festival. His feature debut, The Japanese Dog, premiered in the New Directors section at San Sebastián and went on to win Best Film awards at Vilnius and Warsaw IFF. His second feature, And They May Still Be Alive Today, premiered in 2020.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

There are around 150,000 children in Romania whose parents work abroad, often leading to family breakdown and emotional trauma. This is the context in which I was drawn to the story. Many teenagers, like Flavia, are caught between conflicting impulses: scepticism about family due to painful experiences and a longing to rebuild one. They also find comfort and validation within their peer group, engaging in socially questionable behaviour. Flavia’s inner struggle between wanting a family of her own and fearing its potential failure is what drives the story. The film delves into this tension, showing her brief sense of peace while caring for children before cracks begin to appear. It explores the trauma of absent parents while also highlighting the challenges of family life, reflecting a generation’s conflicted views on relationships and family.