“As an American living in Romania for many years, the misinterpretation of language is something that continues to fascinate me. That and my love for the history of my adopted home made this a natural subject for my first film,” said director Christopher Landry. “I had heard stories of the CIA secretly supporting Saddam Hussein through Romania, and when I conducted my research I found that not only was it true, but far more bizarre than I had ever imagined.”

Landry co-wrote the script with Doru Lupeanu (Tudor Giurgiu's Superman, Spiderman or Batman), dramatising a meeting between CIA and Securitate operatives to provide military supplies and uniforms to the army of Iraq in support of their war against Iran in the early 1980’s.

The cast includes Ștefan Iancu, Alexandru Georgescu, Guy Oliver-Watts, Robert Marshall and Irina Margareta Nistor.

Christopher Landry has worked as an independent producer and assistant director, most recently on The Legend of Ochi for A24 (Romania), the Hellraiser re-boot for Spyglass Entertainment (Serbia) and To Catch a Spy for Hallmark (Malta). He is also the author of Marele Ecran in Epoca de Aur, a study of film posters and filmmaking in Romania during the Ceaușescu era.

Document 56 is a majority Romanian production, with Castel Film Studios’ Vlad Păunescu and Cristi Bostănescu as executive producers.

The film will premiere in late 2022.

Production Information:

Castel Film Studios (Romania)
Wild Rumpus (USA)
Christopher Landry

Credits:
Director: Christopher Landry
Writers: Christopher Landry, Doru Lupeanu
Producer: Christopher Landry
Executive producers: Vlad Păunescu, Cristi Bostănescu
DoP: Liviu Pojoni Jr, Viorel Sergovici Jr
Editor: Dana Bunescu
Production designer: Ana Ioneci
Main cast: Ștefan Iancu, Alexandru Georgescu, Guy Oliver-Watts, Robert Marshall, Irina Margareta Nistor