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, 1939–1956
- Languages
- Romanian, Russian
- Status
- In development
- 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 1939 and 1956, 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.
Historical Basis & Artistic Adaptation
One of the dramatic strands of PRUT. Line of Rupture is inspired by the documented fate of Fr. Teofan (Feofan) Ignatovici, a priest connected to the parishes of Resteo Otaci and Babin in Hotin County.
A 1941 ecclesiastical notice records that Fr. Teofan Ignatovici was killed with his family on 8 July 1941. A surviving memorial commemorates Fr. Feofan and matushka Eufimiya Ignatovici, killed in 1941.
These documents form part of the historical basis of the project. The novel and film are not a literal reconstruction of Fr. Teofan Ignatovici’s biography. In PRUT, his tragic line is artistically transposed to Grozești. This fictional choice does not claim that Fr. Teofan Ignatovici was killed in Grozești.
Historical sources consulted
- Episcopia Hotinului, no. 2 (1941), p. 40, “Clerici decedați”
- “Cercul IV, Județul Hotin”, p. 92, entry “Resteo Otaci”
- Published research by Protoiereu Ioan Lisnic
- Photographic documentation of the Ignatovici memorial
Research credit
Special thanks to Fr. Ioan Lisnic for sharing documents, photographs and guidance that supported the project’s historical research.
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, the international film project "Prut. Line of Rupture" was submitted to the Baltic Event Co-Production Market as part of Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event 2026. On 3 September 2026, the organisers informed us that the project was not among the selected participants. On 8 September, the team received personal feedback from Helen Räim, Manager of the Baltic Event Co-Production Market. In the selection committee's assessment, the project was at too early a stage to take full advantage of an international co-production market. The committee pointed to the need for further development of the screenplay materials, a stronger English-language package and progress on financing. The organisers encouraged us to keep developing the project and invited us to submit it again next year. Development of "Prut. Line of Rupture" continues, with a focus on international co-production.
RIGA IFF 2026 — International Project Development
From 22 to 28 October 2026, Pavel Sidorenco, writer, director and producer of the historical film project “Prut. Line of Rupture” (PRUT. LINE OF RUPTURE), plans a working trip to Riga during Riga International Film Festival 2026.
Attendance with a confirmed FORUM Pass is part of the project’s international development strategy and its search for European co-production opportunities.
The purpose of the trip is to build professional contacts with film industry representatives, discuss potential collaboration, develop partnerships and prepare the project for the next stages of international promotion.
“Prut. Line of Rupture” is a historical drama spanning 1939–1956. The project explores human destinies against the backdrop of political upheaval, war, repression and historical change in Bessarabia and Eastern Europe.
The work in Riga aims to expand the project’s international network, gather professional feedback and explore opportunities for financing, co-production and further promotion of the film.
Strategic significance
Attending Riga IFF 2026 is the next step after the project’s submission to the Baltic Event Co-Production Market 2026 in Tallinn.
Feedback from the Baltic Event organisers highlighted the importance of further developing the script materials, strengthening the financial model and international positioning.
The working trip to Riga is intended to address these tasks through professional dialogue and the development of international connections.
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.
We express our sincere gratitude to Archpriest Ioan Lisnic, a researcher of Orthodox Church history and author of extensive studies documenting the lives of clergy persecuted during the twentieth century.
His research, the archival materials he has shared and his help in recovering the real fates of repressed Bessarabian clergy provide an important documentary foundation for the novel and the forthcoming feature film “Prut. Line of Rupture”.
The fate of priest Teofan Ignatovici, shot in 1941, will hold a distinct place in the work. He appears as a historical character whose tragic storyline is artistically transposed to Grozești. Historically, these events took place in another settlement: Grozești is the artistic setting of the novel and film, not the documented site of the tragedy.
We thank Father Ioan for his years of research, for preserving historical memory and for supporting our project.
Historical source: Archpriest Ioan Lisnic's research on Father Teofan Ignatovici and his wife Eufimia.
Read the researchFather Ioan is credited as a researcher whose works and shared materials informed the development of the project, not as the film's official historical consultant.
A photograph of Father Ioan will be published once image rights have been cleared. Photographs of other priests are not used as a portrait of Father Teofan Ignatovici.
Prut. Line of Rupture — the journey continues
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A video about the project, its story and the next stage of development.
Seeking partners for the next stage
Open to screenplay development, co-production, historical consultancy, financing and international partnerships.