Ada Solomon

Ada Solomon is a Romanian film producer, founder of HiFilm Productions and Micro Film. Her films hold over 150 international awards. She produced and co-produced over 80 titles, among which the ones that stand out the most are Radu Jude’s Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, Aferim! and I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians or Calin Peter Netzer’s Child Pose. Moreover, she has also been involved in high-profile international productions, including as an executive producer on Maren Ade’s festival hit Toni Erdmann. She has been listed by Hollywood Reporter as a part of Top 40 Most influential women in the film industry in 2023.

With a career marked by a commitment to culturally resonant stories and fostering emerging talents, Solomon has transformed what it means to be a producer in Eastern Europe. Her production company HiFilm Productions is at the forefront of Romanian New Wave, helping to push socially relevant, artistically ambitious projects to international acclaim. Her films address complex societal issues, delving into historical and political topics that often challenge cultural norms.

Born and raised in Romania, Ada Solomon witnessed the transformation of her country from the Communist regime into a democratic society. Before her filmmaking era, she worked as a sales agent in the advertising industry. In the early 1990‘s, Solomon entered the film industry as a production assistant during a time when the Romanian film scene was just beginning to gain international recognition.

„There was no education in terms of production, no courses in the film school for producers, nothing regarding marketing, selling of a film, dealing with festivals or anything like that. Actually, the only production houses that existed in the beginning of the 90’s were the studios that were state-owned. And little by little, some very pragmatic and creative people started to open small boutique companies in order to produce. Real producing of films was impossible at that time. We didn’t have a fund, private investors, anything, only one distributor, Romania film, which was the state distributor, which was also owning the whole network of cinemas – there were no multiplexes, no private screenings. It may be hard to understand, but that was the picture – nothing.“

One of the most defining aspects of Solomon’s career has been her collaboration with Romanian New Wave directors, a movement that has gained international acclaim for its realistic, often unflinching portrayal of life in Romania. Solomon’s partnership with Radu Jude is particularly notable; their work together produced some of the most celebrated Romanian films of the past decade. Aferim! (2015). The film’s unvarnished examination of Romanian society’s relationship with its past earned it the Silver Bear for Best Director at Berllinale. Addressing complex and often painful topics, Solomon helped bring a new kind of Romanian film to international audiences—one that doesn’t shy away from controversial subjects. Her collaboration with Jude continued with films like I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians (2018) or Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn (2021).

Aferim! Source: ASFK

„The cinema I am devoted to and actually the only one that I think I can handle is the auteur cinema in the very classical meaning of the word. And Radu is exactly that kind of filmmaker, whom I completely trust and from whom I learned a lot. My role is to back his vision and find solutions for his absolutely magnificent capacity to bring stories to the screen in such diverse types of storytelling. He always knows exactly why he approaches a certain topic in a certain way, why it needs to be black and white or why it has to be filmed on celluloid. Even if sometimes it might look rough, or kind of amateurish, it’s for a reason. It’s not because he doesn’t know how to do it otherwise, it’s because he wanted to say something precisely with that approach.“

One of her most notable achievements came with Child’s Pose (2013), directed by Călin Peter Netzer. A powerful exploration of a mother’s intense and manipulative relationship with her adult son earned the coveted Golden Bear at the Berlinale, bringing international recognition to both the film and Solomon’s work. Adding to her distinguished portfolio, she served as a co-producer for The New Year That Wasn’t (2024), which was honored with the prestigious Venice Horizons Award, further demonstrating her ability to champion innovative and thought-provoking storytelling. Another important part of her career is her involvement in Toni Erdmann (2016), directed by Maren Ade. The critically acclaimed German comedy-drama, a poignant and humorous examination of a father-daughter relationship, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and became one of the most celebrated European films of the decade.

„The first question for a filmmaker is why—why do you want to do this? Why do you want to spend five or ten years of your life on this story and give it to the world? A script or a setting can be worked out, but if you don’t have the drive, this inner flame, it’s impossible to do anything worthwhile. I think that it’s not a story that is important, I think the storyteller is the one who matters.“

Solomon holds an influential role in growing the new generations of EUropean filmmakers as she was for more than a decade the National Coordinator of the European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs (EAVE) program in Romania and currently is not only graduate of ACE but also consultant for the program.

„The quantity of films that are made today is far too much. I think we are living in a time of overproduction, in terms of filmmaking as well. Film is too accessible today. I don’t want to contribute to the quantity of waste we are generating, but I’m much more selective in terms of what’s relevant. Which story I want to help this storyteller to tell? Who am I backing up and what kind of vlaues am I promoting? Am I contributing to a better world and to turn a head of one, two, three viewers? To seed some doubt, to offer a different perspective?“

Ada Solomon’s vision of cinema as both an art form and a vehicle for social commentary continues to resonate, solidifying her status as a visionary in global cinema. As Romanian and European film communities evolve, Ada Solomon’s contributions will remain a cornerstone, exemplifying the potential of cinema to transcend borders, challenge norms, and capture the complexities of the human experience.