SÂNZIANA

Sânziana
Trailer

Trailer

Sânziana
About

Sânziana is a 12:21 minutes female-led psychological suspense film with Romanian mythological influences. It follows the story of Ileana, who chased by nightmares at night and a stalker by day, journeys through the realm of the dreaming and the everyday streets of life finding the allies to guide her back to self in order to face the demons of her past and confront the villains in her present.

It explores the themes of betrayal, female archetypal mentoring, sexual-assault, childhood trauma, courage and self-transformation.

The short film Sânziana offers an intimate exploration of deeply sensitive themes, including childhood sexual assault—particularly as experienced by girls—and, by extension, the broader impact on women. It begins by tracing how trauma from childhood continues to echo into adulthood, shaping a woman’s daily life and the kinds of relationships she forms.

The film invites reflection and dialogue around the abuse, invasiveness, and dangers women face in societies around the world, while also suggesting paths toward healing and personal empowerment.

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Poster @byRoyalston

The protagonist, Ileana, trudges wearily from her nightmares into reality and back, the parallels influencing each other and propelling the journey forward on a spiralling trilogy of struggles, avoidance and ending with facing the villains, both in her dreams and her reality.

Animation by Eugenia Cynthiaputri

Sânziana is told through a dual narrative facet: reality and dream; past and present; life footage and animation.

Sânziana is the name of a principal goddess in Romanian folklore who symbolises the aid, the mentor, the guide in all stories of a hero's journey.

Here, in particular, it also reveals the writer-director's style of storytelling, the fascination with mythology, folklore and symbolism, her ethnicity and gender.