BE MY CAT: A FILM FOR ANNE (2015) – horror film online

The movie is available only for Romania and the Republic of Moldova. We recommend using a VPN to watch it.

Directed by: Adrian Țofei
Script: Adrian Țofei
Cast: Adrian Țofei, Sonia Teodoriu, Florentina Hariton, Alexandra Stroe
Producer: Adrian Țofei
Cinematography by: Adrian Țofei
Edited by: Adrian Țofei
Sound: Adrian Țofei
Year: 2015
Category: Feature film
Genre: Horror
Duration: 87 minutes

1,588 – Cinepub viewers

PLOT SUMMARY

An aspiring filmmaker (played by the director himself) goes to shocking extremes to convince Hollywood actress Anne Hathaway to star in his film.

AWARDS

• 2015 – A Night of Horror, Sydney – Best Film Award
• 2016 – Nashville Film Festival – Special Jury Award for Best Actor (Adrian Țofei)
• 2016 – Hamilton Film Festival – Best Actor Award (Adrian Țofei)

FESTIVALS

• 2015 – Fantasporto International Film Festival, Portugal
• 2015 – TIFF, Cluj, Romania
• 2015 – Dracula Film Festival, Romania
• 2015 – A Night of Horror International Film Festival, Sydney, Australia
• 2016 – Nashville Film Festival
• 2016 – Fright Nights, Vienna, Austria
• 2016 – On Vous Ment! Mockumentary Festival, France
• 2016 – TromaDance, New York City
• 2016 – Hamilton Film Festival, Canada
• 2016 – Toronto Indie Horror Fest, Toronto
• 2016 – Other Worlds Austin, Texas

CRITICAL REVIEWS:

“Cleverly conceived in the found footage film convention, a subgenre popularized in 1999 by the phenomenon that was The Blair Witch Project, Țofei’s debut is a perverse matryoshka doll in which the economy of means works in the author’s favor. There is no need for elaborate choreography, elaborate sets, or visible physical violence — the deserted alleys, bland interiors, and jerky handheld camera work exude enough anxiety, and the psychological violence and sardonic grins are as effective as jump scares.” – Mihai Chirilov, cinepub.ro

“A serious warning: if you get motion sickness, take a Dramamine. This goes beyond shaky-cam and into the realm of wildly-swinging-cam.” – Austin Chronicle

“The results are an unnerving study in cinephilia and erotomania, falling somewhere between Rémy Belvaux’s Man Bites Dog and Patrick Brice’s Creep, as one man documents his own murderous obsession, knowing full well that his possession of a camera is the best cover story for acts lifted from the horror genre.” – Anton Bitel, Little White Lies

“Unfortunately for those who like to imagine that some of it is real, and fortunately for those who fear that possibility, all is acting, directing and storytelling.” – Alison Foreman, IndieWire

“If there’s an Icarus of the found footage genre, then it’s the mastermind behind “Be My Cat: A Film for Anne.” Țofei, an indie filmmaker and actor, stunned horror audiences in 2015 with his low-budget debut about an ambitious Romanian director turned serial killer… also named Adrian.” – Christianh Zilko, IndieWire

“It’s incredibly ironic that a Romanian movie so accurately illustrates the perils and pitfalls of independent filmmaking in America (and parts of Western Europe). It speaks to the glut of aspiring young actresses willing to do anything for a break in show biz—and how innocent ambition makes them easy targets.” – Josh Millican, Dread Central

“His pointed decision to avoid overt gore, instead concentrating on the interactions, makes the film something akin to a modern Peeping Tom.” – Richard Whittaker, Austin Chronicle

“This is a disturbing film, and most of us would probably agree that it takes a lot to disturb, especially those of us getting up there in age. But BE MY CAT gets the job done, and it is surprising the manner in which it makes it all happen. There’s no movie magic here. There’s no heart-stopping twist. There’s no iconic mask. There’s no CGI.” – Matt Molgaard, Blum House

“Be My Cat: A Film for Anne” is the found footage version of “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer.” It’s insidiously terrifying, soaking slowly into the skin and polluting the mind. Țofei is magnetic on screen. Even as Adrian’s world grows darker and more unhinged, you can’t avert your eyes.” – Isaac Feldberg, Slash Film

“It is a daring and effective example of meta-cinema, as Tofei plays a terrifyingly convincing murderer living with his mother, played by his actual mother.” – Jade Gomez, Paste Magazine

“The most revolutionary addition to the found footage genre since The Blair Witch Project and infinitely more convincing and frightening.” – Dean Bertram from A Night of Horror

TRIVIA:

• Vulture publication included it among “the 10 best found-footage horror movies”
• It is considered a cult film.
• Adrian’s character was conceived and developed over a period of five years. It began as a 15-minute monologue, which Țofei later turned into a 50-minute one-man show entitled “The Monster.” A year before filming began, Adrian moved to his hometown to experience circumstances similar to those in the film.
• Țofei chose Anne Hathaway to play his character’s obsession in the film after seeing her performances in Les Miserables and The Dark Knight Rises in 2012. He wanted his character’s love interest to be a world-famous celebrity so that audiences everywhere could relate to the film. The actress also had to have a connection to cats, as her role was inspired by a character played by Tsofei in a one-man show who had issues with cats. Țofei was genuinely impressed by her performance in Les Misérables and realized that his character in the film could become obsessed with her role as Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises.
• He had never used a camera before, had no crew present during filming except for himself and the actresses, lived partly in his character, met the actresses for the first time in character, with the camera rolling, and kept only the first takes in the final cut. Filming was preceded by months of preparation via email and phone calls between Țofei and the three actresses.
• During filming, linguistic alternation was used to ensure the safety of everyone involved: when speaking English, everyone interacted in character, and when speaking Romanian, everyone returned to their own identity (with a few exceptions, when the characters had to speak Romanian). This allowed the actors to freely experiment with improvisation without confusion. A practical example was when actress Sonia Teodoriu, at Țofei’s suggestion to improvise something extreme, unexpectedly called the police during a scene, surprising Țofei both in and out of character. The language rule helped Țofei understand that Teodoriu was calling the police in character, and not about him personally.
• Adrian filmed 25 hours of raw footage.

LINES:

 • „Hello, Anne! My name is Adrian, I am from Romania and I want to make a movie with you.” – Adrian (Adrian Țofei)
• „Pictures… pictures with me when I was very little. My mother very young… me again… me with my mother.” – Adrian (Adrian Țofei)
• „I can’t! go to Hollywood, I simply can’t!” – Adrian (Adrian Țofei)
• „This is a great opportunity for you to win another Oscar!” – Adrian (Adrian Țofei)
• „I will take care of you personally!” – Adrian (Adrian Țofei)
• „First we do, then you think.” – Adrian (Adrian Țofei)
• „Look at her, she is so asleep right now! (…) Let me see if somebody… but it’s not a problem. If somebody would come now, they see we are making a movie and they will not believe she is really passed out, you know?” – Adrian (Adrian Țofei)
• „I do not enjoy doing all this. It’s not me undressing the girl. It’s the character that I’m playing. Do you understand, Anne?” – Adrian (Adrian Țofei)
• „I deserve you on all levels! I deserve you as an actor, as a producer, director, as a man, everything!” – Adrian (Adrian Țofei)
• „I told everyone that we are making a movie with an actress yelling, so there’s no point in yelling. Everyone knows!” – Adrian (Adrian Țofei)
• „Oh my God, she is so dead.” – Adrian (Adrian Țofei)
• „I don’t like boys and I don’t like dogs. I like only girls. (…) I love girls and cats.” – Adrian (Adrian Țofei)
• „I wanted to see you. (…) I’m not good for you or what?” – Flory (Florentina Hariton)
• „Just fuck me and that’s it!” – Flory (Florentina Hariton)
• „Fuck, I don’t feel the need anymore to talk to the camera! (…) I think I don’t need to make the movie. I think I’m ready to talk to Anne.” – Adrian (Adrian Țofei)

ARTICLES:

• A Fake Snuff Film for Anne Hathaway: How ‘Be My Cat’ Found Its Cult Following – indiewire.com
• The 22 Best Found Footage Movies, from ‘Paranormal Activity’ to ‘One Cut of the Dead’ – indiewire.com
• Be My Cat – dreadcentral.com
• Other Worlds Austin Review: Be My Cat: A Film for Anne – austinchronicle.com
• Adrian Țofei. Official Site – adriantofei.com
• A New Wave of Intelligent Found Footage: 5 Films You Need to See – blumhouse.com
• The 25 Scariest Found Footage Horror Movies – slashfilm.com
• The 35 Best Found Footage Horror Movies – pastemagazine.com

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