The Romanian Cultural Institute in New York and the Film Society of Lincoln Center, in collaboration with Transilvania International Film Festival, present
BEYOND
The 6th Annual Romanian Film Festival in NYC
November 30 - December 6 at the Film Society of Lincoln Center
The Romanian Cultural Institute in New York and the Film Society of Lincoln Center are pleased to announce the line-up for the 6th Annual Romanian Film Festival in New York. After five successful years at Tribeca Cinemas, the festival will move to the Film Society of Lincoln Center and will take place from November 30 – December 6. The 2011 edition of the film festival will be dedicated to the memory of Romanian film critic Alex Leo Serban.
"There's no greater reward or recognition," says Corina Suteu, director of the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York, as well as the initiator and chair of the festival, "than being invited by the Film Society of Lincoln Center to partner in presenting the festival starting this year. I am confident that our consistent work around the inspiring Romanian New Wave achieved such institutional legitimacy. I also am hopeful this is only a new beginning."
This year's festival not only offers a change in location and partnership but also in scope and structure. Previous editions of the festival featured an emphasis on showcasing the best and most recent films from Romania’s contemporary cinema, but this year sees an expansion in offering a week-long presentation for the first time ever, offering an overview on the latest Romanian premieres - such as Marian Crisan's MORGEN, Constantin Popescu's PRINCIPLES OF LIFE, Catalin Mitulescu's LOVERBOY, Bogdan George Apetri's OUTBOUND or Radu Gabrea's RED GLOVES – as well as a broad array of special programs providing a more complex perspective on Romanian Cinema.
First and foremost, the festival will honor Liviu Ciulei, one of the legendary masters of Romanian theatre and film, who passed away this October. NYC audiences will get a chance to see, in new prints, produced with the support of the Romanian National Film Center, the very first U.S. retrospective of Ciulei's outstanding directing career.
The festival's second major event will focus on director Radu Muntean, one of the most active directors of the Romanian New Wave. One of the toasts of the 2010 Cannes and New York Film Festivals for his masterful marital drama TUESDAY, AFTER CHRISTMAS, Muntean returns for a retrospective of his remarkable body of work.
Other special events include a celebration of the New Romanian cinema, featuring the 10-year anniversary screening of Cristi Puiu's seminal debut STUFF AND DOUGH, followed by a panel discussion with top U.S. and European critics.
Additional guests attending the festival will include directors Marian Crisan (MORGEN), Radu Gabrea (RED GLOVES), Bogdan George Apetri (OUTBOUND), Mona Nicoara (OUR SCHOOL), actors Irina Petrescu (DANUBE WAVES, THE HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER), Vlad Ivanov (PRINCIPLES OF LIFE, 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS and POLICE, ADJECTIVE), Gabriel Spahiu (ADALBERT’S DREAM, THE DEATH OF MR. LAZARESCU and HIGH TENSION), Anamaria Marinca (BOOGIE and 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS), film critics Magda Mihailescu and Jay Weissberg, and Tudor Giurgiu, the president of long time partner, Transilvania International Film Festival.
The Romanian Film Festival in New York City was initiated in 2006 as a partnership of the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York (RCINY) with the Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF) and Tribeca Cinemas. The partnership with TIFF, Romania’s leading film festival, which continues this year, has extended beyond the NYC festival to facilitate the presence of
American film professionals to the past two editions of TIFF, an initiative that will continue and expand. Initiated and chaired by Corina Suteu, director of RCINY, the festival selection committee also includes Mihai Chirilov, Artistic Director, Scott Foundas, Associate Program Director of FSLC, and Oana Radu, RCINY deputy director.
Tickets are now on sale both at the Walter Reade Theater’s box office and online
Here is the lineup:
WED, Nov 30: OPENING NIGHT
7:30 pm | WRT
MORGEN directed by Marian Crisan
FEATURES | Romania, 2010, 100 minutes | NY PREMIERE
This foreign Oscar submission is a charming fish-out-of-water tale about a supermarket security guard who quietly fights an obtuse system in order to smuggle a Kurdish immigrant across the border.
Director Marian Crisan in person.
THU, Dec 1
3:30 pm | WRT
BOOGIE directed by Radu Muntean
RADU MUNTEAN RETROSPECTIVE | Romania, 2008, 102 minutes
Dragos Bucur and Anamaria Marinca star in Muntean’s dramatic comedy about a young father pining for his bachelor days.
Introduced by Radu Muntean and actress Anamaria Marinca.
6:00 pm | WRT
RED GLOVES directed by Radu Gabrea
FEATURES | Romania-Germany, 2010, 117 minutes | US PREMIERE
A Saxon writer is pressured to incriminate colleagues during months of interrogation and torture, in an unsettling adaptation from the Schlattner novel.
Q&A w/Director Radu Gabrea.
9:00 pm | WRT
OUR SCHOOL d. Mona Nicoara & Miruna Coca-Cozma
DOCS | Romania-USA-Switzerland, 2011, 93 minutes
This affectionate verité doc observes the tribulations of three Roma children facing prejudice in a small Transylvanian town.
Q&A w/Director Mona Nicoara.
FRI, Dec 2
1:00 pm - 6:30pm | EBMFC
SHORTS PROGRAM
132 minutes. Continuous screenings from 1 pm to 6:30 pm.
The best of this year’s shorts including STOPOVER, written by Cristian Mungiu (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days), European Academy Award nominee SUPERMAN, SPIDERMAN OR BATMAN by Tudor Giurgiu (Lovesick) and the offbeat, Kaurismaki-like BORA BORA. FREE ADMISSION
BORA BORA directed by Bogdan Mirica
Wishing to put an end to his bad luck while living in a drought-affected area, a man commits to work for a foreigner, unaware of the fact that he is becoming involved in illegal activities. Winner of Best Romanian Short at 2011 Transilvania IFF.
DRAFT 7 directed by Luiza Parvu
In this graduation short that graciously recalls Wong Kar-wai’s IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, two young actors, Olimpia and Edi, meet in an Irish pub in downtown Bucharest and start rehearsing for their next film.
SILENT RIVER directed by Anca Miruna Lazarescu
Romania, 1986. Gregor and Vali want to get away, swimming across the Danube to Yugoslavia. Both need each other, yet there is mutual distrust. One night Gregor finds his doubts confirmed. In the end only hope is left. A 2011 Berlin Film Festival selection.
STOPOVER directed by Ioana Uricaru
Ingrid is a beautiful and cosmopolitan Romanian woman married to a Norwegian. While waiting for her connecting flight in an Italian airport, her wallet is stolen and she’s left without any documents and money. This subtle story about compromise competed in Sundance 2011.
STRUNG LOVE directed by Victor Dragomir
Viorel, a nerd from the smithing class in a Communist-era professional school, enters a rivet-manufacturing contest hoping to win the attention and affection of Ileana, a schoolmate from the sewing class. Yet another ironic but endearing tale from the Golden Age.
SUPERMAN, SPIDERMAN OR BATMAN directed by Tudor Giurgiu. Aron, a 5-year-old
boy, sets out with his worried father on a journey, and at the end, he wants to save his mother suffering from a heart condition, like a superhero. From the director of LOVE SICK.
1:30 pm | WRT
MORGEN directed by Marian Crisan
FEATURES | Romania, 2010, 100 minutes | NY PREMIERE
This foreign Oscar submission is a charming fish-out-of-water tale about a supermarket security guard who quietly fights an obtuse system in order to smuggle a Kurdish immigrant across the border.
Q&A w/Director Marian Crisan.
3:45 pm | WRT
ERUPTION directed by Liviu Ciulei
LIVIU CIULEI RETROSPECTIVE | Romania, 1957, 108 minutes | US PREMIERE
Ciulei’s impressive debut feature is a proto-THERE WILL BE BLOOD, set in an abandoned oil town where a few drillers linger on, hoping to strike black gold.
6:00 pm | WRT
FOREST OF THE HANGED directed by Liviu Ciulei
LIVIU CIULEI RETROSPECTIVE | Romania, 1964, 154 minutes
Ciulei’s epic account of a Romanian lieutenant in the Austro-Hungarian army during the most brutal days of WWI was the first Romanian feature to get widespread international attention. Winner Best Director Award, Cannes.
Introduced by film critic Magda Mihailescu.
7:00 pm & 8:15 pm | EBMFC
DIGGING FOR LIFE directed by Pavel Cuzuioc
DOCS | Romania, 2011, 55 minutes | US PREMIERE
A fascinating documentary about the only living inhabitants – the gravediggers – of Moldova’s Cemetery of St. Lazar, one of the largest in all of Europe. FREE ADMISSION
9 pm | WRT
DANUBE WAVES directed by Liviu Ciulei
LIVIU CIULEI RETROSPECTIVE | Romania, 1959, 110 minutes | US PREMIERE
Ciulei’s gripping second feature recalls the best of Fritz Lang in its WWII-era tale of three people crossing the Nazi-mined Danube on a barge. Karlo Vivary Golden Crystal Winner.
Introduced by actress Irina Petrescu NEW PRINT.
SAT, Dec 3
2:00 pm | EBMFC
CONVERSATION WITH IRINA PETRESCU
SPECIAL EVENT | ROMANIAN ONLY
Irina Petrescu made her screen debut in 1959 with DANUBE WAVES and went on to become one of the most refined Romanian film and theater actresses. She will meet the audience in a conversation conducted by RCINY director Corina Suteu, talking about her impressive career and this edition's honoree, director Liviu Ciulei, who discovered and put her on the film map.
COMPLIMENTARY TICKETS ARE ONLY AVAILABLE AT THE BOX OFFICE ON A FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED BASIS.
4:00 pm - 11:00pm | EBMFC
SHORTS PROGRAM
132 minutes. Continuous screenings from 4 pm to 11 pm.
The best of this year’s shorts including STOPOVER, written by Cristian Mungiu (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days), European Academy Award nominee SUPERMAN, SPIDERMAN OR BATMAN by Tudor Giurgiu and the offbeat, Kaurismaki-like BORA BORA. FREE ADMISSION
5:30 pm | WRT
HELLO! HOW ARE YOU? d. Alexandru Maftei
FEATURES | Romania, 2010, 85 minutes | NY PREMIERE
Maftei’s witty romantic comedy of errors sees an estranged husband and wife searching for their soul-mates online and entering into an affair… with each other. Introduced by actress Ana Popescu.
7:30 pm | WRT
PRINCIPLES OF LIFE directed by Constantin Popescu
FEATURES | Romania, 2010, 95 minutes | US PREMIERE
The great Vlad Ivanov (of 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days and Police, Adjective) stars as a harried husband and father in this insightful comedy of the everyday.
Q&A w/actor Vlad Ivanov.
10:00 pm | WRT
LOVERBOY directed by Catalin Mitulescu
FEATURES | Romania-Sweden-Serbia, 2011, 95 minutes | NY PREMIERE
A loverboy’s routine is challenged and the hunter becomes the hunted in this gritty study on human trafficking from the director of THE WAY I SPENT THE
END OF THE WORLD.
SUN, Dec 4
1:00 pm | WRT
OUTBOUND directed by Bogdan George Apetri
FEATURES | Romania-Austria, 2010, 80 minutes
This fast-paced drama follows a hard-edged female convict on a day-pass who plans to flee the country.
Q&A w/Director Bogdan George Apetri.
1:00 pm & 3:00 pm | EBMFC
KAPITALISM:OUR IMPROVED FORMULA directed by Alexandru Solomon
DOCS | Romania-France, 2010, 77 minutes | NY PREMIERE
This incisive documentary portrait of Romanian capitalism and the new ruling class exposes its roots in the communist past, with unprecedented access to fearless top magnates. FREE ADMISSION
3:30 pm | WRT
STUFF AND DOUGH directed by Cristi Puiu
SPECIAL: 10 YEARS | Romania, 2001, 90 minutes
The debut feature by the director of THE DEATH OF MR LAZARESCU and AURORA is a seriocomic, Jarmusch-esque road movie about three slacker teens making a delivery for a small-time gangster.
Followed by
5:30 pm | EBMFC
New Romanian Cinema: The Tipping Point
ROUNDTABLE TALK | SPECIAL: 10 YEARS
Much had been said about the rise and consistent relevance of New Romanian Cinema in the last 10 years, but few have looked beyond its current appeal in order to explore the circumstances that led to the renaissance. In this panel discussion, a handful of knowledgeable film critics will investigate "why Romania" and "why now", the precipitating factors behind this resurgence, and how a small country's cinema can make a big difference. The discussion - timed to the 10-year anniversary screening of the first prominent film of the Romanian New Wave, Cristi Puiu's STUFF AND DOUGH - will be conducted by Corina Suteu, the director of the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York. Speakers: Jay Weissberg (film reviewer, Variety), Magda Mihailescu (film critic), Scott Foundas (Associate Program Director, Film Society of Lincoln Center), Mihai Chirilov (artistic director Transilvania International Film Festival) and more. FREE ADMISSION
5:30 pm | WRT
THE RAGE directed by Radu Muntean
RADU MUNTEAN RETROSPECTIVE | Romania, 2003, 82 minutes | US PREMIERE
Muntean’s accomplished debut follows a pair of delinquent teens (Dragos Bucur and Andi Vasluianu) on the run from the gypsy gang leader to whom they owe $7000.
Q&Aw/Radu Muntean and actor Andi Vasluianu.
7:30 pm | WRT
ADALBERT'S DREAM directed by Gabriel Achim
FEATURES | Romania, 2010, 101 minutes | US PREMIERE
Cleverly shot with old-school VHS technology, this wry, fact-based black comedy follows a group of factory workers as they prepare for a Communist Party anniversary celebration.
Q&A w/actor Gabriel Spahiu.
MON, Dec 5
6:00 pm | WRT
TUESDAY, AFTER CHRISTMAS directed by Radu Muntean
RADU MUNTEAN RETROSPECTIVE | Romania, 2010, 95 minutes
Paul (Mimi Branescu) must choose between his wife of 10 years (Mirela Oprisor) and his mistress (Maria Popistasu) in Muntean’s singular stripped-down look at adultery.
Q&A w/Director Radu Muntean.
8:30 pm | WRT
VISITING ROOM d. Radu Muntean & Alexandru Baciu
RADU MUNTEAN RETROSPECTIVE | Romania, 2011, 62 minutes | WORLD PREMIERE,
presented courtesy of HBO Romania
Muntean gives a compassionate look of long-term convicts who found their soul-mates while confined, in this clean-cut, nonjudgmental documentary.
Q&A w/Director Radu Muntean.
TUE, Dec 6: CLOSING NIGHT
6:00 pmm | WRT
THE PAPER WILL BE BLUE d. Radu Muntean
RADU MUNTEAN RETROSPECTIVE | Romania, 2006, 95 minutes
Muntean plunges us into the confusion of Dec. 22, 1989, the moment of Ceausescu’s overthrow, as seen from the POV of a military tank command.
Introduced by actor Andi Vasluianu.
Followed by A CONVERSATION WITH RADU MUNTEAN, hosted by Film Society Associate Program Director, Scott Foundas.
All screenings take place at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, West 65th Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue.
WRT: Walter Reade Theater. Tickets: $13 General Public/ $9 Students & Seniors/ $8 Film Society Members
EBMFC: Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center. All screenings and events for this festival are free admission at this venue.
SEE FOUR & SAVE! Four-Film Package: $36 General Public/ $32 Students & Seniors/ $28 Film Society Members.
ROMANIAN CULTURAL INSTITUTE IN NEW YORK
December 2011
