When Geneviève Dulude-De Celles’ second narrative feature Nina Roza debuts at the 76th Berlin International Film Festival, where this Canada-Italy-Bulgaria-Belgium coproduction is in official competition, the Montreal-based filmmaker will be there with many members of her cast and crew! Hailing from all these countries, they will get together for the very first time at this world premiere – a cinematic family reunion of sorts.
“That is really moving for me,” says Dulude-De Celles, who wrote and directed this drama about Mihail, a Bulgarian immigrant and curator who must return there for work to investigate the art of a prodigal child painter.
“All these creative talents worked together to create the film, and I’m really touched that we will get together to premiere it.” She’s also excited to share the experience with a live audience. “I’m grateful to have a premiere in a big theatre. I appreciate the exchange with the public at film festivals, it’s interesting to get feedback when they see the film.”
While Dulude-De Celles’ debut feature, A Colony (Une colonie) – which in 2019, took home top honours at the Berlinale in the fest’s Generation Kplus section for young audiences – was based on her own life experience “growing up in the countryside near a First Nations community,” this second feature is an amalgam of several stories. Among them, the idea of what would happen if an immigrant who never returned to their country of origin had to go back, and a viral video Dulude-De Celles happened to see.
“I came across a viral video of a child painter, I was stunned by her maturity, so I read about child painters and got interested in the process of buying those artworks, there’s a trust issue. You don’t know if a parent or adult is behind it, which became the quest of our main character Mihail.”
The Making of Nina Roza
Initially, she explains, the story was set in Romania – where she actually spent time in her twenties. When those plans fell through, one of her Belgian producers said, “Could it take place in Bulgaria?” Indeed it could. “We changed the script to make it happen in Bulgaria and then everything flowed,” she says. The film was shot there, and in Montreal.
The story behind making the film – from securing international partners and financing to generating critical acclaim (even before its anticipated premiere) – reflects the quality of its storytelling, its producers’ creativity, and the value of attending international markets, notably, thanks to Telefilm Canada’s support.
For example, the Italian co-producers joined the project when Dulude-De Celles and her team attended the Venice Gap-Financing Market. Part of the Venice International Film Festival, this platform helps international producers secure financing for their projects. Which is precisely what they did!
“That market really helped us,” she says.” If it wasn’t for that market, we wouldn’t be working with the Italian producers. We met them, they read the script and were super interested in the project, so we said, ‘OK let’s try it!’”
To optimize collaboration with these new partners, Dulude-De Celles adjusted the script again to make the gallerist role of Italian origin and be able to offer a great role to an Italian actress. In addition, she says, “We had an Italian costume designer, sound recordist, and we did the end of post-production, colour correction and the mix there.”
And, in its final post-production stages, the Locarno Film Festival’s Locarno Pro event last summer, the unfinished film won two big prizes: The Urban Post First Look Award and the Jannuzzi Smith Award/ Canada was the country of Focus at the Locarno Film Festival’s First Look, and Nina Roza was among the six projects selected and presented there. Dulude-De Celles is thankful for the opportunity to have participated.
Award-Winning Films Fuelled by Passion and Curiosity
Dulude-De Celles is no stranger to the international awards circuit! Among her many major awards over the years for her various projects, highlights include a 2019 Canadian Screen Award for Best First Feature Film for A Colony (Une colonie), and a 2015 Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) award for Welcome to F.L. (Bienvenue à F.L.) She also won big at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival with her first professional short film: The Cut (La coupe) took home the Short Film Jury Prize for International Fiction.
“Sundance was special,” she recalls. “At that time, the prize gave us confidence. It helped us move forward and believe in ourselves. Because at the beginning of a filmmaking career, you need to have faith. You’re taking a leap into the void.” The Cut (La coupe) was also the first professional short by her long-time producers, Colonelle films, who she still works with today.
This dedication and passion led her in the right direction. Even before she studied film and started making movies, her artistic parents encouraged her to be creative and curious. So, it’s no surprise that working with younger actors comes naturally to Dulude-De Celles, who is herself a mother. “I had the chance to work with child actors a lot, I’m more used to that than working with adults!”
Nina Roza features two young Bulgarian twins, from Montreal, in their first acting role. “They are really stunning in the film,” she says. This sense of innocence and discovery ignites the film’s cast, with many actors in their first big parts. “Every character has a lot in common with the actors, in their story, which brings out something special in their performances, because they are also in some way, speaking about their experience,” she says.
While certainly, it’s special to return to the festival that honoured her first feature to premiere her next one, for Dulude-De Celles, the biggest reward is the chance to work with “fantastic collaborators” and nurture the international creative relationships that brought this story to life. “I have an artistic family in Quebec, now I can say I have an artistic family in Belgium, Bulgaria, and Italy – so I’m lucky.”
Nina Roza was produced by Colonelle films (Canada), UMI Films (Italy), Echo Bravo (Belgium), Ginger Light (Bulgaria), Premier Studio Plus (Bulgaria).
Learn more about Canada’s presence at the 76th Berlin International Film Festival, February 12 to 24, 2026, right here. And go o behind-the-scenes of some other Telefilm-supported Canadian coproductions participating in the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival this way!
