Film was introduced in Romania shortly after its advent in 1895, and the local industry thrived as an intrinsic part of modern nation building, with ‘The Independence of Romania’ (Grigore Brezianu, 1912) premiering in Bucharest in 1912 as Romania’s first feature film.
1948 brought the nationalization of the film industry. Similar to all the other film industries of the former Eastern Bloc, Romanian film industry was re-organized through the establishing of three state-owned film studios: the ‘Alexandru Sahia’ Studio (documentary), the Buftea Film Studio (fiction film) and Animafilm (animation).
The 1950s are associated with the ideological extremism of the newly established communist regime trying to gain its legitimacy though massive interference with the cultural production, but also with the massive success of Ion Popescu Gopo whose animation ‘Short History’ won the Palme D’Or in Cannes in 1957.
An iconic Romanian film of the 1960s is based on a classic Romanian novel, namely ‘Forest of the Hanged’ (1965). The film’s author, Liviu Ciulei, was awarded Best Director in Cannes for this film which was his third and last.
The 1970s marked the emergence of the so-called ‘generation 1970’, which included film-makers such as Mircea Daneliuc, Dan Pita, Mircea Veroiu.
The most coherent film personality of the Romanian film industry over several decades has been Lucian Pintilie. Starting with ‘Sunday at six’ (1965), Pintilie proved his ability to engage critically and creatively not only with the major issues of Romanian society but also with issues touching on human condition in general. A charismatic figure which remains the epitome of the refusal to compromise with the political power, Pintilie had his ‘The Reenactment’ (1968) banned one month after its premiere. His imaginative adaptation of Romanian playwright Caragiale ‘Why Are the Bells Ringing, Mitica?’ (1981) premiered only after 1989. Pintilie is the only senior Romanian film-maker whose career thrived in the 1990s and in the present, with films such as: ‘The Oak’ (1992), ‘Unforgettable Summer’ (1994), ‘Too Late’ (1996), ‘Last Stop Paradise’ (1998), ‘Afternoon of a Torturer’ (2001), ‘Niki & Flo’ (2003).
The demise of the communist regime in December 1989 meant not only the end of state interference with the film production but also the end of state subsidies and the subsequent entering in a new stage of cultural production and administration.
The main newcomer of the 1990s, who was lately to be perceived as a model for the new generation of Romanian film-makers was Nae Caranfil, whose tongue in cheek humour – proved by films such as ‘E Pericoloso Sporgersi’ (1993), ‘Asfalt tango’ (1996) (starring Charlotte Rampling), ‘Dolce far niente’ (1998) and ‘Filantropica’ (2002) – was successful not only on the local but also on the international market.
One of the most outstanding successes of the recent years is the international career of director Cristi Puiu’s ‘The Death of Mr Lazarescu’, an ambitious minimalist piece with a strong documentary feel. Thirty-eight year old Puiu was catapulted on the international market by the Palme D’Or awarded in Cannes’ ‘Un certain regard’ section, in 2005. The following year, the film was presented to critical acclaim in cinemas nationwide, distributed by Tartan Films.
Another major breakthrough for Romanian cinema is Corneliu Porumboiu, who was awarded in 2006 the Cannes Festival’s Camera d’Or prize for his first featuer film, ‘12.08 East of Bucharest’. The film will be premiered in the UK in the London Film Festival, on 31 October and will be distributed in the UK by Artificial Eye.
Other names of the recent Romanian ‘New wave’ include Cristian Mungiu (Occident), Sinisa Dragin (Every Day God Kisses Us on the Mouth), Catalin Mitulescu (The Way I Spent the End of The World), Napoleon Helmis (The Italian Girls), Ruxandra Zenide (Ryna), Tudor Giurgiu (Love Sick).
Documentary film-making also started thriving after 2000, with several names (Florin Iepan, Alexandru Solomon, Thomas Ciulei, Dumitru Budrala) emerging on the international market after the selection of their films in international festivals such as IDFA Amsterdam or Margaret Mead (New York).
Useful websites:
CNC – National Centre of Cinematography (www.cncinema.abt.ro)
TIFF – Transilvania International Film Festival (www.tiff.ro)
DaKINO International Film Festival (www.dakino-filmfestival.ro)
Anonimul International Independent Film Festival (www.festival-anonimul.ro)
Astra Film Festival (www.astrafilm.ro)
