This year, despite the festival’s growing success and recognition, its very survival has been jeopardized by the recent political changes in Romania, which have impacted the primary mission, status and budget of the Romanian Cultural Institute. In response to this unexpected adversity, the team that founded the festival seven years ago under the auspices of the Romanian Cultural Institute, Corina Suteu and Oana Radu, have resigned their posts as Director and Deputy Director, respectively, of the Institute, to establish the Romanian Film Initiative (RFI) together with Mihai Chirilov, the long-time artistic director of the festival. The RFI, in cooperation with the Film Society of Lincoln Center, strives to keep the playful, experimental spirit of the yearly event alive, and to continue to help Romanian films make waves in New York City and beyond. The RFI currently enjoys the support of leading Romanian artists, including film directors Cristian Mungiu, Radu Muntean, Lucian Pintilie, Corneliu Porumboiu, Cristi Puiu, Andrei Ujica and visual artist Dan Perjovschi, and the continued partnership of Transilvania International Film Festival.
“The Film Society of Lincoln Center is proud to continue its support of the exciting new generation of films and filmmakers from Romania by supporting the MAKING WAVES festival, especially in light of the recent governmental changes in Romania that have greatly endangered the future of state support for art and culture,” says Scott Foundas, Associate Program Director for the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
MAKING WAVES offers an overview of the best new Romanian filmmaking each year and introduces American audiences to landmark films rarely seen in the U.S. The festival has run in New York since 2006 when it was launched by the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York, in collaboration with other partners. Notably, in 2011, the festival moved to the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
“Romanian Cinema deserves to be exposed on a sustainable basis to American audiences and in the most professional way possible. It is with great passion and commitment that the Romanian Film Initiative strives to reach beyond a crisis situation by creating a new platform and allowing the immensely gifted film community in Romania to remain in the world spotlight,” says Corina Şuteu, initiator and president of the festival and co-founder of the Romanian Film Initiative.
MAKING WAVES will present a week-long overview of the best and most recent films from Romania’s contemporary cinema, including the Opening Night selection OF SNAILS AND MEN by Tudor Giurgiu and Cristian Mungiu’s Cannes-awarded BEYOND THE HILLS as the Closing Night film. The lineup also includes the New York Premieres of Radu Jude’s EVERYBODY IN OUR FAMILY, Adrian Sitaru’s BEST INTENTIONS, and the North American Premiere of Radu Gabrea’s Three days till Christmas (Last days of the life of Elena and Nicolae CeauSescu).
The festival will also host a long-due U.S. presentation of director Alexandru Tatos, one of the leading Romanian filmmakers of the 70’s and ’80s, whose film SEQUENCES gathered a small but dedicated following due to the film’s inclusion in the MoMA collection. New York audiences will have a chance to see three of his best films: RED APPLES (1976), ANASTASIA GENTLY PASSES (1979) and SEQUENCES (1982), on new prints produced with the support of the Romanian National Film Center. The star of ANASTASIA GENTLY PASSES, Anda Onesa, and Director of Photography, Florin Mihăilescu, long collaborator of Alexandru Tatos, will attend to introduce select screenings and to participate in post-screening Q&As.
Among the highlights of the festival this year is a special program addressing the important political and cultural policy changes that have been taking place in Romania and Hungary in the recent past. Entitled “Creative Freedom Through Cinema: Romania and Hungary” and curated by Corina Șuteu and László Jakab Orsós (PEN World Voice Festival director), this program aims to offer a better understanding of the sociopolitical context in these two countries and to address the relationship between arts and politics. Special screenings of Sequences (d. Alexandru Tatos, Romania, 1982) and Time Stands Still (d. Péter Gothár, Hungary, 1982) will be followed by two panel conversations with Romanian and Hungarian artists and cultural critics. Panelists include with film directors Tudor Giurgiu (Of Snails and Men) and Mona Nicoară (Our School), visual artist Dan Perjovschi, essayist Eszter Babarczy, and arts curator György Szabó.
Other special events include a celebration of the 40th anniversary of a landmark Romanian film, the Dan Piţa & Mircea Veroiu co-directed STONE WEDDING, another of the few Romanian films included in the MoMA collection.
Additional guests attending the festival will include Cannes-winners actresses Cristina Flutur and Cosmina Stratan [BEYOND THE HILLS], director Tudor Giurgiu [OF SNAILS AND MEN; also producer of SOMEWHERE IN PALILULA, and the president of long time partner, Transilvania International Film Festival], actor Andi Vasluianu [OF SNAILS AND MEN], director Radu Gabrea [THREE DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS], producer Ada Solomon [EVERYBODY IN OUR FAMILY and BEST INTENTIONS], with more guests to be announced soon.
“The stakes are high given the critical success of the previous edition hosted by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and I'm confident that this year's selection of award-winning features, complete with a large variety of shorts, documentaries, anniversary and tribute screenings will meet the expectations of the New York audience, proving once again that the Romanian Cinema deserves its hot spot on the movie map,” notes Mihai Chirilov, the festival’s Artistic Director and co-founder of the Romanian Film Initiative.
MAKING WAVES: New Romanian Cinema is supported by the Trust for Mutual Understanding, as well as the Blue Heron Foundation and other generous donors and sponsors, including visual artist Adrian Ghenie, and producer-director Bobby Paunescu. To complement funding for the festival, the Romanian Film Initiative has also launched a Kickstarter campaign to garner the grass roots support directly from the festival’s dedicated audience, and the many fans of Romanian cinema world wide.
The Festival Board includes Corina Şuteu, festival president; Mihai Chirilov, artistic director; Scott Foundas, associate program director at Film Society of Lincoln Center and Oana Radu, festival manager.
Public and Press Screenings will be held at the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theater (located at 165 West 65th Street, between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway), with a selection of public screenings to also take place at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center (located at 144 West 65th Street). The press screening schedule will be announced in early November. Tickets will go on sale Thursday, November 1st.
Individual ticket prices: $13 GP/ $9 Student & Senior/ $8 Member
Three Film Package: $30 GP/ $24 Student & Senior/ $21 Member
Visit Filmlinc.com for more information.
FILMS, DESCRIPTIONS & SCHEDULE
Opening Night!
Of Snails and Men/Despre oameni si melci
Tudor Giurgiu, 2012, Romania; 100m
A group of desperate workers come up with a crazy idea in order to save their factory from bankruptcy. This Full Monty-like bittersweet comedy is based on a real story from the 90s, at the exact time when the King of Pop visited Romania.
In person: director Tudor Giurgiu and actors Monica Bîrlădeanu and Andi Vasluianu.
**THURS. NOV 29; FRI. NOV 30
Closing Night!
Beyond the Hills/După dealuri
Cristian Mungiu, 2012, Romania, DCP; 150m
Inspired by a real case of exorcism, Cristian Mungiu's new film is an all too believable portrait of dogma at odds with personal liberty in a society still emerging from the shadow of Communism. A NYFF selection, multiple prizewinner in Cannes, and Romania's official 2012 Oscar submission. A Sundance Selects release.
*In person: Cristina Flutur and Cosmina Stratan
**WED. DEC 5
New York Premiere!
Best Intentions/Din dragoste cu cele mai bune intentii
Adrian Sitaru, 2011, Hungary/Romania; 105m
In this expertly choreographed film, the life of a young man (Bogdan Dumitrache, winner of Best Actor at the 2011 Locarno Film Festival) is turned upside down when his mother suffers a stroke and gets hospitalized. But everybody's best intentions are far from reassuring.
*FRI. NOV 30; WED. DEC 5
Crulic: The Path to Beyond
Anca Damian, 2011, Romania; 73m
A dead man recalls the story of a Kafkaesque miscarriage of justice that sent him to jail for a crime he didn't commit, in this strange and strikingly animated documentary based on a real tragedy.
*SUN. DEC 2
Free screening! North American Premiere!
A Dream's Merchant/Un gând, un vis, Doyle... şi-un pix
Bogdan Ilie-Micu, 2012, Romania; 172m
Constructed almost entirely from still photos masterfully synchronized with audio commentaries, this challenging doc tells the story of an adventurous one-man motorcycle expedition that spans over 21, 000 kilometers and 14 countries.
*MON. DEC 3
Free screening! North American Premiere!
8th of March/8 Martie
Alexandru Belc, 2012, Romania; 73m
Chaplin’s Modern Times is reinvented in post-communist Romania, focusing on one working day in the lives of several women, in a haunting and troubling account that makes you do anything but laugh.
*SAT. DEC 1
New York Premiere!
Everybody in Our Family/Toata lumea din familia noastra
Radu Jude, 2012, Romania/Netherlands; 107m
What starts as a slice of life becomes a dark tragicomedy about family dynamics when a small incident between two divorced parents takes on gigantic and almost cartoonish proportions.
In person: producer Ada Solomon.
*FRI. NOV 30; SAT. DEC 1
North American Premiere!
A Film for Friends/Film pentru prieteni
Radu Jude, 2011, Romania; 58m
A disillusioned man is filming his farewell letter before committing suicide. Fasten your seatbelts, it's gonna be a bumpy and twisted ride.
*SAT. DEC 1
North American Premiere!
Somewhere in Palilula/Undeva la Palilula
Silviu Purcarete, 2012, Romania; 145m
Possibly the most unusual offering of this year's feature selection, this flamboyant cross between Fellini and Peter Greenaway is the debut film of one of the most famous Romanian stage directors.
In person: producer Tudor Giurgiu
*SAT. DEC 1
Special 40th anniversary screening!
New 35MM Print!
Stone Wedding/Nunta de piatra
Mircea Veroiu and Dan Pita, 1972, Romania; 90m
Celebrating 40 years since its release, this cult classic is comprised of two separate stories of different mode, set in the same small town, both with a wedding reference as a central point and the timeless quality of old and tragic folktales.
*TUES. DEC 4
North American Premiere!
Teodora Sinner/Pacatoasa teodora
Anca Hirte, 2011, Romania/France; 86m
Everyday routine and the most ardent of prayers coexist to draw a vibrant portrayal of life in a convent, seen through the beautiful eyes of a woman preparing for her upcoming marriage with God.
*SUN. DEC 2; WED. DEC 5
North American Premiere!
Three Days Till Christmas (The Last Days in the Life of Elena and Nicolae Ceaușescu)/Trei zile pana la Craciun (Ultimele zile din viata Elenei si a lui Nicolae Ceausescu)
Radu Gabrea, 2012, Romania; 90m
An unusual companion to Andrei Ujică's The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceaușescu, Gabrea's docudrama is an intriguing mix of true fiction and false reality, perfectly in tune with the ambiguities of the Romanian Revolution.
In person: director Radu Gabrea
*SUN. DEC 2; MON. DEC 3
Free screening!
Turn off the Lights
Ivana Mladenovic, Romania, 2012; 77m
One of the deepest insight into the Romanian crime landscape to date, this doc produced by Cătălin Mitulescu (Loverboy) follows the destinies of three men from the day they are released from prison through the beginnings of their new lives.
*SUN. DEC 2
Free screening!
New Romanian Shorts. Various; 101m
The best of the newest short films include, among others, the hilarious 3-minute animation The Scream (Edvard Munch's famous canvas meets Pink Floyd!), the slick, Moebius strip-like Infinite Minutes and this year's Cannes Critics Week selection A Family Dinner. Complete list below.
*FRI. NOV 30; SAT. DEC 1
- Another Christmas (Un alt Crăciun), 2012, d. Tudor Giurgiu
- Blu, 2011, d. Nicolae Constantin Tănase
- Daddy Rulz (Tatăl meu e cel mai tare), 2012, d. Radu Potcoavă
- Family Dinner (Cină în familie), 2012, d. Ştefan Constantinescu
- Hello Kitty, 2012, d. Millo Simulov
- Infinite Minutes (Minute Infinite), 2011, d. Cecilia Felméri
- The Scream (Ţipătul), 2011, d. Sebastian Cosor
Alexandru Tatos Retrospective
NEW 35MM PRINT !
Anastasia Gently Passes/Duios Anastasia trecea
Alexandru Tatos, 1979, Romania; 100m
In a border village during WW2, Anastasia (Anda Onesa, winner of Best Actress at the 1980 Karlovy Vary Film Festival) refuses to obey orders and buries a partisan, in this unsettling and modern retelling of Antigone's myth.
In person: Anda Onesa.
*TUES. DEC 4
NEW 35MM PRINT!
Red Apples
Alexandru Tatos, 1976, Romania; 105m
Following the tribulations of a newly-appointed urologist, Tatos' debut film is an acid pamphlet against destruction of young talent as well as a stand against the pervasive corruption that plagues even the noblest of professions.
In person: cinematographer Florin Mihăilescu
*MON. DEC 3
Sequences/Secvente
Alexandru Tatos, 1986, Romania; 100m
Full of provocative political metaphors, Tatos' masterpiece is a powerful meditation on the role of the arts in a rigidly controlled society, told in three parts, each of which involves a film crew.
*SAT. DEC 1
Creative Freedom Through Cinema: Romania and Hungary
SEQUENCES/SECVENŢE - Screening introduced by DP Florin Mihăilescu (details above)
Followed immediately by a panel discussion focusing on the Romanian context with film directors Tudor Giurgiu (Of Snails and Men) and Mona Nicoară (Our School), visual artist Dan Perjovschi, and arts curator György Szabó, moderated by Mihai Chirilov.
*SAT, DEC 1, 6:00 PM
Time Stands Still (Megáll az idö)
Time Stands Still (Megáll az idö)
Péter Gothár, 1982, Hungary; 103m
Péter Gothár’s superb second feature as director is a frightening indictment of life under a socialist regime, all the more so because it shows how even school life and adolescent love affairs can become totally permeated and perverted by political dishonesty.
Followed immediately by a panel discussion shading light on the recent changes in Hungary, with essayist Eszter Babarczy, György Szabó, and Mona Nicoară, moderated by Scott Foundas.
*SUN, DEC 2, 1:00 PM
Film Society of Lincoln Center
Under the leadership of Rose Kuo, Executive Director, and Richard Peña, Program Director, theFilm Society of Lincoln Center offers the best in international, classic and cutting-edge independent cinema. The Film Society presents two film festivals that attract global attention: the New York Film Festival, which recently celebrated its 50th edition, and New Directors/New Films which, since its founding in 1972, has been produced in collaboration with MoMA. The Film Society also publishes the award-winning Film Comment Magazine, and for over three decades has given an annual award—now named “The Chaplin Award”—to a major figure in world cinema. Past recipients of this award include Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep, and Tom Hanks. The Film Society presents a year-round calendar of programming, panels, lectures, educational programs and specialty film releases at its Walter Reade Theater and the new state-of-the-art Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center. The Film Society receives generous, year-round support from Royal Bank of Canada, American Airlines, The New York Times, Stella Artois, WNET New York Public Media, the National Endowment for the Arts and New York State Council on the Arts. For more information, visit www.filmlinc.com.
Romanian Film Initiative
Recently established by Corina Şuteu, Mihai Chirilov and Oana Radu, the core team that initiated and organized the Romanian Film Festival in NYC since 2006, the Romanian Film Initiative aims to continue supporting a strong presence of Romanian cinema in New York City and to further develop the MAKING WAVES: New Romanian Cinema festival. www.filmetc.org.
For Media specific inquiries, please contact:
Julia Pacetti, JMP Verdant, (917) 584-7846
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Film Society of Lincoln Center:
John Wildman, (212) 875-5419
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
David Ninh, (212) 875-5423
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
