Romania is not the first place that comes to mind when discussing snow-covered mountains with steep rocky cliffs and deep, rugged gorges. But that's where filmmakers Stanislav Cociorva and Ecaterina Cernei—otherwise known as Stanly and Katya—went in order to document some serious mountains in winter. They encountered massive snowfalls—20 inches in 24 hours—sub-zero temperatures, but in return, they recorded some fantastic video. Among the equipment they relied upon was a BMW X6 M50d xDrive.
They captured the imagery with a new Phantom 4 Pro DJI drone, but Stanly and Katya admit their BMW X6 was the project's hero.
“As we already had acquired experience filming Romania in the summer, we were tempted to make another movie in winter. Using the knowledge we had gained during our previous trips we chose locations which offered a rich diversity of natural landscapes and cultural landmarks,” reported Katya.
The team filmed in ten locations over a two-week period and covered 1,553 miles on roads up to elevations of 6,560 feet including the “Transfăgărăşan,” which Jeremy Clarkson when he was with Top Gear called “the most beautiful road in the world.”
The mention of Romania sometimes conjures up images of dark, brooding castles inhabited by vampires. Stanly and Katya's "Frozen Romania" did indeed film at a place known as Dracula's Castle in Bran, although the thirteenth-century edifice on the border of Transylvania and Wallachia in Romania is not dark and brooding, it has no connection to Bram Stoker's character, and may have been only briefly visited by the original Dracula, Vlad the Impaler.
The filmmakers admitted that the weather and the roads were daunting. “The greatest challenge we faced during our trip was the weather. Specifically mountain hairpin turns covered with snow and ice. The BMW X 6 M50d is not only an epic presence in the film, but also got us to remote locations uncompromisingly and helped realize our project on time. Regardless of the extreme winter conditions and rough state of the mountain roads, we always managed to reach our destination," said Stanly.
The BMW X6 M50d is powered by a three-liter, inline-six, triple-turbocharged diesel engine producing 381 horsepower and an even more impressive 546 pound-feet of torque. That explains why steep roads were no problem for the X6 M50d.
Since the X6 M50d is not available in the U.S., we don't get to see it very often. That's why the already impressive "Frozen Romania" film is even better due to the cameo appearance by BMW's M-tuned diesel Sports Activity Coupe.—Scott Blazey
Enjoy the video on Vimeo here:
[Photos and video courtesy of Stanly and Katya.]
