Panaji: Romanian filmmaker Alina Șerban’s multilingual drama I Matter (Eu Contez) has been selected as the Mid-Fest film at the 57th International Film Festival of India (IFFI). The 101-minute film will have its Indian premiere at the festival.
A co-production of Romania, Germany and Belgium, the film follows Rebeca, a young Roma woman preparing to leave the orphanage where she grew up. Hoping to reunite with her father after his release from prison, she also secures admission to university to study acting. However, as she steps into a new phase of life, painful experiences from her past resurface.
Featuring dialogues in Romanian and Romani, the drama explores identity, family, social inclusion and the search for belonging. Denisa Farcaș plays Rebeca, alongside Sorin Mihai, Angelina Pavel and others.
The film marks Șerban’s feature-directorial debut. An actress and playwright, she has previously been associated with Alone at My Wedding, Gipsy Queen and Housekeeping for Beginners.
I Matter premiered in the Venice Spotlight section of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival in September 2026, where it won the Armani Beauty Audience Award.
The film will be screened simultaneously at 4.30pm on November 24 at PVR INOX Panjim and PVR INOX Porvorim. Șerban and lead actor Denisa Farcaș will attend the festival, with a red-carpet event scheduled at the Panjim venue.
IFFI 2026 is being held from November 20 to 28 across venues in Goa, featuring more than 150 films from 86 countries.
