Prut. Line of Rupture
In June 1940, the Prut stops being a road between families and becomes a border overnight, separating Ion and Maria through years of war, occupation and repression.
Project facts
- Genre
- Historical drama
- Format
- Fiction feature film
- Setting
- Bessarabia & Iași, 1940–1946
- Languages
- Romanian, Russian
- Status
- In development
- Company
- Prodezvolt SRL / BizSamurai Production
- Director, writer, producer
- Pavel Sidorenco
- Project code
- C26/1-DEZ-FL/35
In June 1940, in Grozești, Ion Lungu and Maria are preparing to marry. The Prut is still a road between relatives, work and church, not a border. After the Soviet ultimatum, the bridge closes and the river becomes a frontier between the USSR and Romania. Maria is trapped in Iași; Ion remains on the other bank.
Between 1940 and 1946, their love is tested by documents, fear, occupation, war, anti-Semitic violence, military service, return and new repression. Years later, an old Ion returns to the Prut with his great-grandchildren. He does not give them a lesson in history — he gives them the objects that survived: letters, a ring, a cross and a stone from the river.
A film about love, dignity and memory that outlives borders and regimes.
Dossier: Ion
CNC Moldova 2026 — the project's journey
| Score | Development | Overall ranking | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitching | 5.44 / 10 | 6 / 11 | ≈ 52–53 / 62 |
| Screenplay | 7.32 / 10 | 2 / 11 | 19 / 62 |
| Stage I | 34.7 | 3 / 11 | 24 / 62 |
| Stage II * | 13.8 | 1 / 11 | 11 / 51 |
| Final | 48.5 | 2 / 11 | 33 / 51 |
| Funding | — | — | 0 MDL |
* 11th — by Stage II score only. Final combined ranking: 33 out of 51.
CNC 2026: the project diary
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Public pitch session before the CNC Moldova 2026 international jury.
Not a victory and not self-punishment — a moment of clarity
I entered a completely new territory with real anxiety: public film-funding competitions. I knew almost nothing about how the system worked, but I stayed in the race and reached the final ranking. The project did not receive funding, yet the process strengthened both my understanding and my confidence: the story works, and "Prut. Line of Rupture" deserves to exist and to be made. This experience will help me rewrite the novel manuscript and the screenplay, strengthen the characters, conflict, structure and pitch. And we may once again have to build much of it ourselves, without waiting for someone to come and rescue the project. The work is only beginning.
What comes next
- Rewrite and deepen the novel manuscript.
- Strengthen the screenplay.
- Rebuild and rehearse the pitch.
- Find development partners, co-producers and financing.
- Prepare the project for production.
"Prut. Line of Rupture" must become a film.
CNC 2026 competition timeline
- Dossier submitted to the CNC 2026 Film Funding Competition
- Submissions opened for the competition pitching session
- Stage I results published — the project advanced
- Public pitch session before the international jury
- Pitch results published — project advanced to Stage II; final combined ranking: 33/51, no funding awarded
Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event 2026 — Co-Production Market
On 22 July 2026, "Prut. Line of Rupture" was submitted to the Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event 2026 Co-Production Market. The organisers confirmed receipt of the application. Submission does not mean selection; the project is currently awaiting evaluation.
Pavel Sidorenco is a Moldovan screenwriter, director and producer, founder of BizSamurai Production and shareholder of PRODEZVOLT S.R.L. BizSamurai Production is a trademark of PRODEZVOLT S.R.L. He directed and released in cinemas the feature film Turcoaica.
PRODEZVOLT S.R.L. / BizSamurai Production develops film and audiovisual projects focused on human stories, memory and identity.
Seeking partners for the next stage
Open to screenplay development, co-production, historical consultancy, financing and international partnerships.