Thursday 2 Nov 2006

18.15, National Film Theatre / NFT2, South Bank, London SE1 8XT; Box office: 020 7928 3232

“The 12:08 in the title refers to the time that the announcement of Ceausescu’s deposition was made on Romanian national television on 22 December 1989, and hence the moment that revolution freed Romania from dictatorship and communist rule. Sixteen years later, in an unnamed small town ‘somewhere east of Bucharest’, Jderescu, a producer at the impoverished local television channel, is desperately looking for a programme idea to commemorate the event. A talk show discussing how locals contributed to the revolution seems the best idea. After various panellists cry off, Jderescu is left with, shall we say, a couple of less than ideal guests: Manescu, an alcoholic school-teacher and Piscoci, a lonely old-timer who jumps at the chance to join in, but mainly because he’d like some company. What follows, in this Cannes Camera d’Or-winning gem, is an absurdly comic farce in the best Eastern European tradition. Manescu and Piscoci’s egocentric reminiscences are humorously repudiated, as much by their inconsistencies as by phone calls from local viewers, who remember an altogether different story. Porumboiu’s lightness of touch ensures that the film prompts very relevant questions about personal reinterpretations of the past but also makes a sarcastic dig at the contradictions of post-revolutionary Romania. Crucially he not only raises the question ‘did it happen here?’ but also ‘what difference did it make?”” (Sarah Lutton) ‘12:08 East of Bucharest’ will be distributed by Artificial Eye. Previous works of Corneliu Porumboiu, such as the short films ‘Liviu’s Dream’ and ‘A Trip to the City’ were screened in the 3rd Romanian Film Festival in London, ‘New Romanian Cinema 2006’, organised by the RCC during 2-5 February 2006, at the Curzon Mayfair, London. Corneliu was also present for a Q&A session with the audience. Corneliu was awarded the Caméra d’Or prize at Cannes 2006 for ‘12:08 East of Bucharest’, his first feature film. The film was presented initially in the London Film Festival on 31 October 2006, at Odeon West End cinema.

More details on www.lff.org.uk