Videograms of a Revolution (Videogramme einer Revolution)

Directed by Harun Farocki and Andrei Ujică
Germany, 1992, 106 minutes

For Videograms of a Revolution Andrei Ujica and Harun Farocki collected amateur video and material broadcast by Romanian state television after it was taken over by demonstrators in December 1989. The audio and video represent the historic first-ever revolution in which television played a major role. The film’s protagonist is contemporary history itself.

“We get all of the broadcast glitches, unedited feeds, power-grabbing chaos, and epochal please-stand-by ellipses; as civilians literally defend the TV station with combat rifles, unidentified counter-revolutionary snipers hole up in massive and empty high-rise buildings the dictator had built and then abandoned.  The sense of exhilarating liberation and history made as we watch is consistently leavened by the weird distance, between citizens and their own revolt, occupied by TV cameras and monitors.  By the end of the week, and the Ceausescus’ executions, nothing is real — or historical — until it is seen on television.” — Michael Atkinson, Village Voice

The Flower Bridge (Podul de flori)

Directed by Thomas Ciulei
Romania, 2008, 87 minutes
Cast: Costică Arhir, Maria Arhir, Alexandra Arhir, Alexie Arhir
U.S premiere  —  February 2009 at MoMA’s Documentary Fortnight.

Costică raises his three children in the village of Acui, in the Republic of Moldova, without his wife, who left for Italy over three years ago to find work and has not been home since.  The film depicts a large-scale social phenomenon — massive economic migration that leaves deep scars in the structure of the family — that affects half of Moldova’s population.

Sat, December 5
2:30 p.m.
Theater 1








Sun, December 6
8:30 p.m.
Theater 1

 

Shorts

Oli’s Wedding (Nunta lui Oli) directed by Tudor Jurgiu
Romania, 2009, 21 minutes
Cast: Adrian Titieni, Alexandru Gâtstrâmb, George Costea, Ioan Cortea, Alexandra Fasola, Vlad Rădescu
Alone in his kitchen in Bucharest, Dorel prepares for what seems to be a party.  Actually, it’s his son’s wedding which takes place in the United States.  Dorel is going to watch the wedding through a webcam, together with two of his son’s friends.  On a small screen, they are about to meet the bride and her father, and witness the ceremony.

For Him (Pentru el), directed by Stanca Radu
Romania, 2009, 9 minutes
Cast: Andreea Grămoşteanu
Even though you’re followed around by a movie camera, you’re still alone.  Based on an extremely popular YouTube scam.  Winner of the Award for Best Romanian Short Film at Transilvania Film Festival, 2009.

Renovation (Renovare), directed by Paul Negoescu
Romania, 2009, 24 minutes
Cast: Simona Bondoc, Clara Vodă, Mircea Rusu, Andrei Runcanu, Diana Cavallioti
Besides her daily work, Doina tries to manage the renovation of the family’s apartment.  Her son Alex can hardly find any time for either the renovation or his girlfriend as the deadline for his Masters thesis draws near.  As for grandma, all she wants is a little consideration.

Tarantyno, directed by Mircea Nestor
Romania, 2009, 16 minutes
Cast: Bogdan Cotlet, Antonia Ionescu Micu, Costi Dită
Between an irritating big brother and an attractive girl who fails to fall for his charm, Tarantyno decides to take what he wants, but things don’t go as planned…

11 PM directed by Alexandru Sava
Romania, 2009, 12 minutes
Cast: Răzvan Tache, Răzvan Barseti, Dragos Dănilă, Marius Times, Sebastian Grigore, Alexandru Sava, Dan Ilies
While three football fans beat up an innocent man over their team’s loss, a man angered by the racket decides to take matters into his own hand.  Meanwhile, two petty dealers decide to take their car out for a spin after a few shots of whiskey.   A tragedy ensues.

Bric-Brac directed by Gabriel Achim
Romania, 2009, 18 minutes
Cast: Paul Ipate, Ioana Blaj, Gabriel Achim
This is the story of a film director who tries to persuade the main actor to play his part in the film he’s directing.  The actor refuses due to the similarities between the script and a real experience he has gone through:  a violent argument with his girlfriend.

Katalin Varga

Directed by Peter Strickland — U.S. Premiere
Romania/UK/Hungary , 2009, 82 minutes
Cast: Hilda Peter, Norbert Tankó, Tibor Pálfy, Melinda Kántor, László Matray, Roberto Giacomello, Sebastian Marina
Production: Libra Film, Peter Strickland production, in association with Hai-Hui Entertainment

Screening on December 5 followed by Q & A with producer Tudor Giurgiu

When her husband learns that he’s not the father of their son Orbán, Katalin is banished by her husband and her village, and left with no other choice than to set out on a quest to find the real father of her son.  Taking Orbán with her under other pretences, Katalin travels through the Carpathians where she decides to reopen a sinister chapter from her past and take revenge.  The hunt leads her to a place, she prayed eleven years prior, she would never set foot in again.

State of Things (Stare de fapt)

directed by Stere Gulea
Romania, 1995, 89 minutes
Cast: Oana Pellea, Mircea Rusu, Răzvan Vasilescu, Dan Condurache, Luminiţa Gheorghiu, Cornel Scripcaru

Gulea’s film seems intent on revealing life’s tragic paradoxes and sad ironies as reflected in recent Romanian history.  It is December 21st, 1989 and a severely wounded teenager shows up in the middle of the night at the front door of a young nurse.  She takes him for care at the hospital where her soon-to-be husband works, only to find him the morning after in the hospital’s morgue, shot dead in the head.  In the instability and chaos that ensues, the couple is pressured into providing fake documents which would absolve the secret police for his death, and others.  The woman refuses to collaborate and her nightmare begins: she is arrested and convicted on a trumped-up charge, consequently being humiliated, beaten up and raped in prison.  Her only comfort remains the child she is carrying.

Sat, December 5
6:30 p.m.
Theater 2

Sun, December 6
6:30 p.m.
Theater 1

Silent Wedding (Nunta mută)

Screening followed by Q & A with director Horaţiu Mălăele

Romania, 1953. In a small village, a young couple is about to get married.   Guests arrive, the banquet is ready and everything is prepared for the ceremony.  Unexpectedly, the Russian Army shows up, Stalin’s death is announced, and mandatory national mourning is declared.  All other celebrations are banned.  The villagers however are not easily defeated, and decide to celebrate against all odds.  A story about resistance during harsh communist times — Silent Wedding is a modern fairytale that jockeys between past and present through a strong narrative rife with tears and laughter.

Australia 

Directed by Claudiu Mitcu — U.S. Premiere
Romania, 2009, 65 min
Cast: Mihai Rosu, Florin Bătrînu, Vasile Bereghi, Beniamin Calancea, Pavel Calancea, Daniel Podina, Claudiu Kostity, Radu Munteanu
Production: HBO Romania

In 2008, Romania for the first time participated in the Homeless World Cup Finals, which took place in Melbourne.  This story tracks the seven players on the national team, all homeless from the city of Timişoara, from the moment they come together as a team and until the end of the tournament.  Go Romania!

The Oak (Balanţa)

Directed by Lucian Pintilie
Romania, 1992, 105 minutes
Cast: Maia Morgenstern, Răzvan Vasilescu, Victor Rebengiuc, Dorel Vişan, Mariana Mihuţ, Dan Condurache, Virgil Andriescu

The Oak is an absorbing, complicated black comedy about Romania at the end of the Ceauşescu regime.  A young schoolteacher named Nela embarks on a spiritual journey after the death of her father, a former government official, whose ashes she takes to toting in a coffee jar.  On her wanderings through grotesque and often violent surroundings, she meets Mitică.  The couple, like Tristan and Isolde at the gates of the Orient, cannot live out their love according to the rules.  A series of events — floods, pollution, Mitică's arrest, military maneuvers and massacres —  split up our heroes, and reveal a context in which nothing works properly and everything seems to be falling apart.  Everyone is bitter and life is shown as a series of random, meaningless instances of chaos and brutality, characterizing a socio-political structure which makes these events seem normal.

“This film…is Mr. Pintilie's reaction to the 1989 collapse of the Communist regime in his country and his expectations for the future.  It begins as a nightmare and ends with a vague expectation of the break of day… Mr. Pintilie seems to suggest that there is still hope for Romania, though it's not just around the corner.”  —  Vincent Canby, New York Times

Sat, December 5
9:00 p.m.
Theater 2

Sunday, December 6
2:00 p.m.
Theater 1

The Other Irene (Cealaltă Irina)

Directed by Andrei Gruzsnicki — U.S. Premiere
Romania, 2009, 95 minutes
Cast: Andi Vasluianu, Simona Popescu, Vlad Ivanov, Dana Dogaru, Doru Ana, Mihai Dinvale, Gabriel Spahiu
Production: Fundaţia Arte Vizuale (FAV)

Screening followed by Q & A with actors Andi Vasluianu and Vlad Ivanov

Reluctantly, security guard Aurel (Andi Vasluianu) lets his wife Irene go on a working trip to Cairo. Having had a breath of fresh air, she returns transformed and soon sets out again — but this time she does not come back.  Aurel’s true ordeal begins as he sets out on his own journey: a search for his wife amidst dubious bureaucrats, criminal embassies and hateful in-laws.

“Sharing themes as it does with some of the finest European thrillers – such as the nerve-wrecking The Vanishing (George Sluizer, 1988) – it’s hard to believe The Other Irene is, in fact, based on a true story.  It reveals a political and bureaucratic landscape that is truly eerie.  The clean cinematography, especially apparent in the mall where Aurel works, beautifully emphasizes the main character’s solitude and actor Andi Vasluianu performs the brooding desperation inside this antihero with incredible delicacy.” — Cambridge Film Festival

Hooked (Pescuit sportiv)

Directed by Adrian Sitaru
Romania/France, 2008, 84 minutes
Winner — NewVoices/New Vision, Palm Springs Film Festival

Production: 4Proof Film, Movie Partners in Motion Film, ARTE France Cinema

An ordinary couple is about to have a life changing experience.  After causing a car accident in which a young prostitute is left dead, the woman asks the man to keep everything a secret.  However, the prostitute is very much alive and she’s ready to confront them, no matter what.  Hooked’s naturalistic, handheld visual style complements the psychological complexity of the screenplay.

“… extraordinary power and utility in portraying fascinating characters engaged in a highly compelling dynamic, relying on pure raw talent behind the superb writing, acting and direction, and all achieved on a Dogme budget.”  — Orly Ravid, Jury Member, Palm Springs Film Festival

Sun, December 6
4:00 p.m.
Theater 2

RUSH Tickets

Suprise film

Katalin Varga
 

Directed by Peter Strickland — U.S. Premiere
Romania/UK/Hungary , 2009, 82 minutes
Cast: Hilda Peter, Norbert Tankó, Tibor Pálfy, Melinda Kántor, László Matray, Roberto Giacomello, Sebastian Marina
Production: Libra Film, Peter Strickland production, in association with Hai-Hui Entertainment

When her husband learns that he’s not the father of their son Orbán, Katalin is banished by her husband and her village, and left with no other choice than to set out on a quest to find the real father of her son.  Taking Orbán with her under other pretences, Katalin travels through the Carpathians where she decides to reopen a sinister chapter from her past and take revenge.  The hunt leads her to a place, she prayed eleven years prior, she would never set foot in again.

Silent Wedding (Nunta mută)

Directed by Horaţiu Mălăele — U.S. Premiere
Romania, 2008, 87 minutes
Cast: Alexandru Potocean, Meda Victor, Valentin Teodosiu, Alexandru Bindea, Luminiţa Gheorghiu, Şerban Pavlu, Victor Rebengiuc
Production: Castel Film

Romania, 1953. In a small village, a young couple is about to get married.   Guests arrive, the banquet is ready and everything is prepared for the ceremony.  Unexpectedly, the Russian Army shows up, Stalin’s death is announced, and mandatory national mourning is declared.  All other celebrations are banned.  The villagers however are not easily defeated, and decide to celebrate against all odds.  A story about resistance during harsh communist times — Silent Wedding is a modern fairytale that jockeys between past and present through a strong narrative rife with tears and laughter.

Police, Adjective (Poliţist, adj.)

Directed by Corneliu Porumboiu
Romania, 2009, 115 minutes – An IFC Films release
Official selection of Romania for the 82nd Academy Awards
Official Selection — New York Film Festival
Winner — Grand Jury Prize and FIPRESCI Prize, Cannes Film Festival

Production: 42 KM Film production, in association with Racova, Raza Studio, with the participation of HBO Romania

Screening followed by Q & A with actor Vlad Ivanov

This beautifully acted, modern morality play from Romanian director Corneliu Porumboiu (12:08 East of Bucharest) features what may be movie history’s most absurdly protracted police sting operation, designed to catch a lone high school student in the act of selling drugs.  Cristi, the cop assigned to the case, realizes the futility of the mission, though his attempts to convince his bureaucratic superiors are met with contempt, derision, and the reminder that it is not his place to question the letter of the law. But letters and laws — of both the legal and grammatical kind — are very much on Porumboiu’s mind as the long, nearly wordless scenes of the film’s first half give way to a show-stopping final act of Stoppardian verbosity in which cop and police chief (unforgettably played by Vlad Ivanov) engage in an exhilarating verbal tennis match about conscience, personal morality and the true meaning of language. (New York Film Festival) 

“Further proof of the strength of the Romanian New Wave.” — Manohla Dargis, New York Times

Sun, December 6
8:30 p.m.
Theater 1

Same as Shorts Program above.

Shorts

Oli’s Wedding (Nunta lui Oli) directed by Tudor Jurgiu
Romania, 2009, 21 minutes
Cast: Adrian Titieni, Alexandru Gâtstrâmb, George Costea, Ioan Cortea, Alexandra Fasola, Vlad Rădescu

For Him (Pentru el), directed by Stanca Radu
Romania, 2009, 9 minutes
Cast: Andreea Grămoşteanu

Renovation (Renovare) directed by Paul Negoescu
Romania, 2009, 24 minutes
Cast: Simona Bondoc, Clara Vodă, Mircea Rusu, Andrei Runcanu, Diana Cavallioti

Tarantyno directed by Mircea Nestor
Romania, 2009, 16 minutes
Cast: Bogdan Cotlet, Antonia Ionescu Micu, Costi Dită

11 PM directed by Alexandru Sava
Romania, 2009, 12 minutes
Cast: Răzvan Tache, Răzvan Barseti, Dragos Dănilă, Marius Times, Sebastian Grigore, Alexandru Sava, Dan Ilies

Bric-Brac directed by Gabriel Achim
Romania, 2009, 18 minutes
Cast: Paul Ipate, Ioana Blaj, Gabriel Achim

Mon, December 7
8:30 p.m.
RCINY

Free Admission

SPECIAL EVENT: The Actors of the Romanian New Wave

Meet actors Vlad Ivanov, Horatiu Malaele and Andi Vasluianu for a late happy hour session of quizzes, drinks and fun..
To be held at the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York, 200 East 38th St. (at Third Avenue).