December 04–08, 2014
New Romanian Cinema
Romanian Film Initiative
MAKING WAVES: New Romanian Cinema
MAKING WAVES: New Romanian Cinema is co-presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Romanian Film Initiative, in partnership with the Jacob Burns Film Center. Initiated in 2006 and chaired by Corina Șuteu, Making Waves has become a fixture in New York City’s cultural scene. Every year the festival offers a selection of the best of contemporary Romanian filmmaking, along with panels and special programs, and highlights the importance of art in addressing controversial topics and forging a dialogue around challenging issues. Since 2012 Making Waves has been a fully independent festival of Romanian contemporary cinema and culture, made possible through the support of numerous institutional funders and individual donations, including a large number of Romanian artists who believe that audiences at home and abroad deserve unfettered access to the best of Romanian contemporary culture. For the second consecutive year, select films will also screen at the Jacob Burns Film Center, from December 5-10.
The 9th edition of MAKING WAVES is made possible with the generous participation of numerous supporters from Romania, the U.S., and around the world, who have joined the Circle of Donors and the Festival Club, including Lucian Pintilie, Adrian Ghenie, Şerban Savu, Dan Perjovschi, Marie-France Ionesco, Corneliu Porumboiu, Marius Bercea, Mica Ertegun, Andrei Both, Alexander Nanau, Radu Jude, Daniela Kamiliotis, Andrew Solomon, and many more. Leading support has been provided by the Trust for Mutual Understanding, HBO Romania, Ștefania Magidson, and the Blue Heron Foundation, as well as ICON Production and Lark Play Development Center. This year, Making Waves has also received generous support from the leading professional and public organizations in Romania: The National Center of Cinema and the Filmmakers Union of Romania.
Waves, a daring project whose supporters believe that giving art a voice is the only reliable “way out.” Corina Șuteu, Festival President Mihai Chirilov, Artistic Director Romanian Film Initiative
Romanian Film Initiative
MAKING WAVES: New Romanian Cinema
The vibe of this year’s showcase of contemporary Romanian cinema is perhaps best captured by Faulkner’s famous words “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” Twenty-five years have passed since the fall of Communism, but for most of the films in this program—from Quod Erat Demonstrandum to I’m an Old Communist Hag to Viktoria to Roxanne—the past remains unfinished business, proof that Romania’s recent history has left an indelible mark on its collective consciousness. When not addressing history, Romanian films embrace the present and attempt to break free from a haunted past, begging the question: can it really be left behind? The ninth edition of Making Waves offers some possible answers. The country continues to struggle with critical concerns that manifest in environmental protests mobilized by the young, presidential elections that recall the ghosts of Communism, and ongoing public debates about the relationship between political power, secret services and corruption. In Romania, cinema and reality are in constant dialogue, and this reciprocity echoes in Making
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MAKING WAVES: New Romanian Cinema
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It is our privilege to present another season of Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema here at Lincoln Center. The ninth edition of the program considers the legacy of Communism in Romania 25 years after its fall, with period-set films that offer new perspectives on the past and contemporary works that examine its lingering effects. Most of the films on the slate are making their New York (or North American) debuts, but we’re proud to welcome back two that we showcased in our New Directors/New Films series this past March: Andrei Gruzsniczki’s account of the fight for free expression under the regime, Quod Erat Demonstrandum, and our opening-night feature, Tudor Cristian Jurgiu’s gentle, Ozu-like The Japanese Dog. We also consider Romania’s place in the world community, through co-productions like our closing-night film, Viktoria, made in partnership with Bulgaria, and two Russian films, Children 404 and Winter Journey, about LGBT rights in the wake of legislation that impacts the entire region (and accompanied by a free panel discussion with activists from both nations). With works from some of the most exciting directors on the world
stage, including Corneliu Porumboiu (whose Police, Adjective and 12:08 East of Bucharest are hallmarks of the Romanian New Wave), our provocative and ever-expanding series will be certain to make waves. Florence Almozini Senior Programmer Film Society of Lincoln Center
CÂINELE JAPONEZ Opening Night
Directed by Tudor Cristian Jurgiu Romania, 2013, 90m Screenplay: Ioan Antoci, Gabriel Gheorghe, Tudor Cristian Jurgiu Cinematography: Andrei Butică Cast: Victor Rebengiuc, Șerban Pavlu, Ioana Abur, Kana Hashimoto Producer: Tudor Giurgiu Production: Libra Film Festivals: 2013 San Sebastian, 2014 New Directors/New Films
| Thu, Dec 4, 7:00 pm, WRT | Fri, Dec 5, 4:00 pm, WRT In person: director Tudor Cristian Jurgiu
New Releases
THE JAPANESE DOG
In this understated first feature about family reconciliation, Victor Rebengiuc (Forest of the Hanged, Niki and Flo) plays Costache, a man who has lost his wife, his house, and all of his possessions in a flood. The unexpected return of his son, Ticu, from Japan forces the two to learn how to communicate and become a family again. Costache becomes a real grandfather to his 7-year-old grandson, while Ticu rectifies mistakes from his past. Something like a Romanian film as directed by Yasujiro Ozu, this New Directors/New Films 2014 selection is Romania’s entry in the upcoming foreign-language Oscar race. In Romanian with English subtitles.
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New Releases
VIKTORIA
| Mon, Dec 8, 7:00 pm, WRT
Closing Night New York Premiere!
Directed by Maya Vitkova
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Bulgaria/Romania, 2014, 155m Screenplay: Maya Vitkova Cinematography: Krum Rodriguez Cast: Irmena Chichikova, Daria Vitkova, Kalina Vitkova, Mariana Krumova Producer: Maya Vitkova Production: Viktoria Films, Mandragora Festivals: 2014 Sundance - World Competition, Rotterdam, Goteborg, Special Jury Prize – Transilvania
In 1979, following an unplanned pregnancy, Boryana gives birth to Viktoria. Miraculously born with no belly button and proclaimed “the baby of the decade,” Viktoria becomes a symbol of communist Bulgaria but grows up constantly at war with her mother. When the Communist regime collapses in 1989, Viktoria’s life is turned upside down and the hardships of the new era bind her and her mother together. A Bulgarian/Romanian co-production, and the first from the former country to screen at Sundance, Viktoria is a darkly funny and innovative epic infused with strikingly surreal images, offering a unique perspective on the communist chimera. In Bulgarian with English subtitles.
SUNT O BABĂ COMUNISTĂ
| Fri, Dec 5, 6:00 pm, WRT | Sun, Dec 7, 1:00 pm, WRT In person: director Stere Gulea & actress Ana Ularu New York Premiere!
Directed by Stere Gulea Romania, 2013, 94m Screenplay: Stere Gulea, Vera Ion, Lucian Dan Teodorovici Cinematography: Vivi Drăgan Vasile Cast: Luminiţa Gheorghiu, Marian Râlea, Ana Ularu Producers: Andrei Boncea, Cristina Dobriţoiu Production: MediaPro Pictures
Emilia’s quiet, provincial life is disrupted when her daughter unexpectedly returns from Canada, bringing her American fiancé along with her. Their happy reunion quickly becomes complicated, with the generation gap widened by cultural disparities. Moreover, the 60-year-old Emilia, who is famous in the neighborhood for her communist nostalgia, is asked to participate in the production of a documentary chronicling festivities organized by the Communist regime. This bittersweet drama features yet another subtle performance by legendary Romanian actress Luminița Gheorghiu (The Death of Mr. Lăzărescu, Child’s Pose).
New Releases / Director in Focus: Stere Gulea
I’M AN OLD COMMUNIST HAG
In Romanian and English with English subtitles.
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New Releases
Quod Erat Demonstrandum
Directed by Andrei Gruzsniczki
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Romania, 2013, 107m Screenplay: Andrei Gruzsniczki Cinematography: Vivi Drăgan Vasile Cast: Ofelia Popii, Sorin Leoveanu, Florin Piersic Jr., Virgil Ogăşanu, Tora Vasilescu Producer: Velvet Moraru Production: Icon Production Festivals: Special Jury Prize – 2013 Rome; 2014 New Directors/New Films
| Fri, Dec 5, 8:30 pm, WRT In person: actor Florin Piersic Jr. & producer Velvet Moraru
In 1984, a brilliant mathematician becomes the target of the Secret Police after he published an article in an American journal without asking for permission from the Communist authorities. His best friend’s wife and colleague is trying to join her husband who emigrated to France. And then there’s the Securitate agent who’s investigating both of them. What follows is a tense story of paranoia and betrayal, skillfully shot in black and white with remarkable attention to period details, where the issues explored are anything but black and white. As A.O. Scott put it in The New York Times: “The villains here are sincere, hard-working bureaucrats, and their victims are frequently confused or duplicitous.” A New Directors/New Films selection. In Romanian with English subtitles.
| Sat, Dec 6, 5:15 pm, WRT | Sun, Dec 7, 5:30 pm, WRT In person: Vladimir Tismăneanu & Marius Stan
NEW RELEASES
Roxanne
New York Premiere!
Directed by Valentin Hotea Romania/Hungary, 2013, 98m Screenplay: Ileana Muntean, Valentin Hotea Cinematography: Alex Sterian Cast: Şerban Pavlu, Diana Dumbravă, Mihai Călin Producers: Ada Solomon, Ioana Drăghici Production: Hi Film Productions, Abis Studio, CorLeonis Films Festivals: 2013 Locarno, 2013 Cottbus
The Police’s signature song makes a special appearance in this story of a decent but immature guy in his late thirties who finds out from his secret police file that he might have fathered a son. But this is just the first blast from a complicated past, and the sudden discovery leads him on a self-defeating quest for truth, as he simultaneously becomes obsessed with uncovering the identity of the informer who betrayed him to the authorities. Shot in a matter-of-fact style, exclusively driven by the story’s twist and turns, this drama echoes the multitude of similar discoveries in real life, prompting a burning question: should the past be left buried? In Romanian with English subtitles. The Saturday, December 6 screening will be introduced by Vladimir Tismăneanu, professor of politics at the University of Maryland and author of numerous works on the history of communism, and Marius Stan, a political scientist and freelance journalist for Radio Free Europe and other online platforms.
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New Releases
The Second Game
Directed by Corneliu Porumboiu Romania, 2013, 97m Screenplay: Corneliu Porumboiu Cast: Corneliu Porumboiu, Adrian Porumboiu Producer: Marcela Ursu Production: 42 Km Film Festivals: 2014 Berlin (Forum), Art of the Real, Best Romanian Film at Transilvania IFF
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| Sun, Dec 7, 3:30 pm, WRT
Al doilea joc
“This film is a football match between two Bucharest rival teams, Steaua and Dinamo, which took place on the 3rd of December, 1988,” says Corneliu Porumboiu, the acclaimed director of Police, Adjective. “My father was the referee. We rewatched the match together, some 25 years later.” This historic game, presented in its original televised form with commentary from Porumboiu and his father, proves to contain a not-so-hidden political resonance. Behind the archival images, the off-screen commentaries, and the wry parallels between soccer and cinema lies the true subject of this ambitious enterprise: the elusive ways in which we relate to the past and, to a certain extent, to our parents. An Art of the Real 2014 selection. In Romanian with English subtitles.
| Sat, Dec 6, 7:30 pm, WRT | Mon, Dec 8, 4:30 pm, WRT In person: director Vlad Petri
București, unde ești?
North American Premiere!
Directed by Vlad Petri Romania, 2014, 80m Screenplay & Cinematography: Vlad Petri Editor: Gabi Basalici Producer: Vlad Petri Production: Activ Docs Festival: 2014 Rotterdam
Twenty-three years after the Romanian Revolution, people are back on the streets of Bucharest, reclaiming University Square, the public space that was home to many anti-Communist demonstrations. The director follows their stories for one year, from the first days of the protests to the Referendum for the impeachment of the Romanian President. This is a poignant documentary about people who are at once devastated and impassioned, lost and encouraged, and about a revolution that becomes tragically absurd. You don’t need to be familiar with contemporary Romanian politics to connect with this funny and furious chronicle of recent history.
New Releases: Documentaries NEW RELEASES
Where Are You Bucharest?
In Romanian with English subtitles.
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DIRECTOR IN FOCUS: Stere Gulea
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DIRECTOR IN FOCUS: Stere Gulea
Possessing a view of the world that’s both “severe and objective” (according to his colleague Lucian Pintilie), Stere Gulea is one of the most important Romanian directors, with a career spanning more than 40 years. Well known for his literary adaptations (including Fox: Hunter, based on Herta Müller’s Even Back Then, the Fox Was the Hunter), Gulea also wrote and directed State of Things, one of the most powerful accounts of the Romanian Revolution. Making Waves pays tribute to him by screening his most recent film, I’m an Old Communist Hag, and one of the masterpieces of Romanian cinema, The Journey (Moromeții). See also NEW RELEASES LINE (page 7): I’M AN OLD COMMUNIST HAG followed by Q&A with Stere Gulea and Ana Ularu FRI, DEC 5, 6 PM & SUN, DEC 7, 7 PM, WRT
Moromeții
Directed by Stere Gulea
| Sun, Dec 7, 7:45 pm, WRT In person: director Stere Gulea
This remarkable adaptation of Marin Preda’s novel covers the years preceding World War II in a village in the Danube Plain, with its visible and invisible tensions as its residents contend with the early consolidation of capitalism in the rural area. Like the novel, the film combines realism and mythology, with Ilie Moromete—a Socratic character symbolic of popular wisdom—marking a monumental performance for Victor Rebengiuc, and featuring an equally impressive Luminița Gheorghiu in her first major role. Despite denunciation by Communist authorities for his portrayal of village life, Gulea managed to outsmart the censors with this exquisitely shot black-and-white classic that’s not to be missed.
Director in Focus: Stere Gulea
The Journey
Romania, 1987, 151m Screenplay: Stere Gulea, based on the novel by Marin Preda Cinematography: Vivi Drăgan Vasile Cast: Victor Rebengiuc, Luminiţa Gheorghiu, Dorel Vişan, Mitică Popescu Production: Casa de filme 1
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Creative Freedom through Cinema
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SPECIAL PROGRAM: Creative Freedom through Cinema Making Waves continues its special sidebar devoted to the relationship between art and politics in Eastern Europe, and the importance of art in addressing controversial topics and forging a dialogue around challenging issues. This year’s program looks at human rights in Russia—the guest country at Making Waves this year—with a particular focus on the rights of sexual minorities. Even as LGBTQ rights steadily progress in many places around the world, intolerance and abuse is on the rise in others. In Russia, a law passed in 2013 bans the so-called “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations to minors,” effectively stifling not only LGBTQ rights, but freedom of expression itself. Yet, despite this pressure, Russian artists courageously continue to give voice to LGBTQ identities, especially evident in two recent films: Winter Journey and Children 404. In Romania, the public conversation on the rights
of sexual minorities has not yet taken root in its cinema, yet intolerance runs high among all levels of society. The recent failure of a civil partnership bill exposed exactly how high this intolerance runs among both government and elected officials. This sidebar was curated in partnership with film critic and Rotterdam Film Festival programmer Evgeny Gusyatinskiy. Special thanks to the Trust for Mutual Understanding.
| Sat, Dec 6, 3:30 pm, WRT
DETI 404
Directed by Pavel Loparev & Askold Kurov Russia, 2014, 76m Screenplay & cinematography: Askold Kurov, Pavel Loparev Editors: Lena Rem, Pavel Loparev, Askold Kurov Producers: Askold Kurov, Pavel Loparev Production: Cinema Politica Festivals: 2014 HotDocs
In 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin passed a bill forbidding the “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations to minors.” LGBT youth, now defenseless against insults and intimidation, are considered sick, sinful, and abnormal. Psychologists, teachers, and even parents can be fined or imprisoned for supporting them. This brave and harrowing documentary gives voice to 45 Russian teens who share their stories through anonymous interviews and video diaries, detailing their humiliations and discriminations, as well as their courageous stands against bullies. The testimonies are collected online as the Children 404 Project, named after the common “error 404 - page not found” Web message.
Creative Freedom through Cinema
CHILDREN 404
In Russian with English subtitles.
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Creative Freedom through Cinema
WINTER JOURNEY
New York Premiere!
Directed by Sergei Taramajev & Liubov Lvova
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| Sat, Dec 6, 1:30 pm, WRT
ZIMNY PUT
Russia, 2013, 95m Screenplay: Sergei Taramajev, Liubov Lvova Cinematography: Mikhail Krichman Cast: Aleksei Frandetti, Evgeniy Tkachuk, Vladimir Mishukov, Dmitrij Muchamadejev Producers: Mikhail Karasev, Dmitry Gluhov, Alexander Perelstein Production: Mika Films Festivals: 2013 Goteborg; Best Film – 2013 Stalker Human Rights IFF, Moscow
Inspired by Schubert’s tragic vocal cycle “Winterreise,” this provocative film charts the tempestuous attraction between two young lonely men who could not be more different: a talented opera student at the Moscow Conservatory who is fragile and vulnerable, and a ferociously aggressive street thug. The intelligent script doesn’t hasten the two into a relationship, instead favoring the strange, poetic, and unsettling moments before their first intimate contact. It comes as no surprise that Russian officials sabotaged the film’s release—this powerful and touching drama was turned down by local film showcases and was barely cleared for a limited domestic run. In Russian with English subtitles.
Š Making Waves 2013, Courtesy of Lucien Samaha
| Sat, Dec 6, 5:00 pm, AMP
The panel will focus on the role of the arts in addressing LGBT rights in Russia, Romania, and the U.S. Panelists include Masha Gessen, a RussianAmerican journalist, lecturer, and activist, and the author of Words Will Break Cement: The Passion of Pussy Riot and The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin, and Andrew Solomon, a writer and lecturer on psychology, politics, and the arts (author of The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression, and Far From the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity); winner of the National Book Award; and an activist in LGBT rights, mental health, and the arts. The conversation will be moderated by RomanianAmerican documentary filmmaker and human-rights activist Mona Nicoară (Our School). Free Admission!
Creative Freedom through Cinema
PANEL CONVERSATION
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New Romanian Shorts
New Romanian Shorts
IT CAN PASS THROUGH THE WALL
HORSEPOWER
Directed by Radu Jude
Directed by Daniel Sandu
Romania, 2014, 17m Production: Micro Film, Mitra Film, Motion Picture Management
Romania, 2014, 27m Production: Icon Production
CAI PUTERE
TRECE ȘI PRIN PERETE
| Sat, Dec 6, 7:00 pm, AMP | Sun, Dec 7, 6:30 pm, AMP 134 m In person: director Daniel Sandu All shorts in Romanian with English subtitles. Free Admission!
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“I am frightened, Grandpa!... Do you hear? [...] The people in the house are crying, he said. They miss the one who died, that’s why they are crying.” (from Anton Chekhov’s “In the Coach House”) Directors’ Fortnight – 2014 Cannes
Mihai shelters his motorcycle over the winter in his 10th floor apartment. The ritual involves a bunch of buddies who help him carrying it upstairs and several drinking breaks, but this year something goes wrong. Best Short Film at Cottbus.
ELA, PANDA & OUR FATHER TATĂL NOSTRU MADAM
THE WALK
Directed by Andrei Ștefan Răuțu
Directed by Sergiu Lupșe
Directed by Mihaela Popescu
Romania, 2013, 27m Production: Asociaţia Les Herbes Folles
Romania, 2013, 8m Production: Babeș-Bolyai University / Everyday Drama Workshop
Romania, 2013, 15m Production: Saga Film
PLIMBARE
ELA, PANDA ȘI MADAM
A young workaholic hurries to drop her grandmother at the seaside and return to work the next morning so she won’t lose her job. But her lovely grandma has other plans…
Two young women with opposing views on religion and morality meet in an empty parking lot by the side of the road. Before going their separate ways, the strangers talk about faith.
New Romanian Shorts
| continued
A solitary old woman has the urge to go outside and feel alive again.
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New Romanian Shorts
| continued
KOWALSKI
Alex Leo Șerban Fellow: Film critic Andrei Rus
SĂ MORI DIN DRAGOSTE RĂNITĂ
Directed by Andrei Crețulescu
Directed by Iulia Rugină
Romania, 2014, 18m Production: Kinosseur, Wearebasca, Digital Cube, Dakino
Romania, 2014, 22m Production: Actoriedefilm.ro
Three men walk into a pub. The first has too many questions. The second has the perfect plan. The third has no chance. 20
DYING FROM A WOUND OF LOVE
This is the evening when Andrei and Maria will hear Angela Similea’s song for the last time, as this is also the evening when they decided they would die...
For the third year, Making Waves is pleased to present the Alex Leo Șerban Fellowship, in partnership with Transilvania International Film Festival. This year’s fellow is film critic Andrei Rus, editor of Film Menu magazine, and faculty and instigator of a film club revival hosted by the National University of Theatre and Film in Bucharest.
Special Event
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SPECIAL EVENT: Hedda Sterne rediscovered A visual artist best remembered as the only female in the Abstract Expressionist group The Irascible 18 (and the wife of Saul Steinberg, the Romanianborn American cartoonist and illustrator of New Yorker fame), Hedda Sterne created a body of work known for its stubborn independence from styles and trends. Her works appear in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Art, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Born in Romania in 1910, Sterne had achieved international recognition as an avant-garde artist by 1941, when, as a Jew, she fled the country to find refuge in the U.S. (where she died in 2011). The work she left behind in her Bucharest studio, closely guarded for more than 50 years by her close friend and fellow artist Medi Wechsler Dinu (now age 106!), has recently been rediscovered by Cosmin Năsui, director of the PostModernism
| Sun, Dec 7, 5:00 pm, AMP
Museum in Bucharest. Năsui and Radu Stern (former Director of Education at the Musée d’Elysée in Lausanne, Switzerland, and the author of From Dada to Surrealism: Jewish Avant-Garde Artists from Romania and Against Fashion: Clothing as Art, 1850-1930) will share for the first time Sterne’s early works and Wechsler Dinu’s testimonies, recounting a cinematic story of talent and grit, of courage and loyalty, of shattered lives and a bygone world. Presented in collaboration with the PostModernism Museum (Bucharest). Free Admission!
Special Event ← Bunti a lui Geo Bogza, 24 x 28 cm, cca 1938 ← Unitled 2, 24,5 x 33 cm, cca 1938 ↙ Medi Dinu, terracotta colored, h 24 cm, 1938 ↓ Feminine character, 37 x 48 cm, cca 1938 ↘ Masculin character, 24,5 x 33 cm, cca 1938
23 Images courtesy of Năsui Collection/PostModernism Museum
Conversation generators
Romanian Design in Focus
Making Waves is pleased to enlarge its platform dedicated to Romanian contemporary cinema and culture by presenting this year two design projects that playfully address aspects of identity and invite a larger conversation about creativity and politics in everyday life. Don’t miss this special festival sale, which will complement the exclusive DVD sale!
RONATIV (Romanian Native) by Cătălin Năstăsoiu
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RONATIV is a collection of works designed with the declared purpose of offering a different perspective on Romania. Created by Romanian-American designer Cătălin Năstăsoiu, RONATIV is an “identity conversation generator.”
“It is a way of refreshing the image of my origins,” says Năstăsoiu, who took the geometric shape of Romania and turned it into a “measurable unit.” “A culture is not a shape on a world’s map, it has volume generated by time and history. A culture is full of grace; fresh like an Adolescent, prolific like a Mother and wise like a Grandmother. When you look from a different perspective to this shape you discover volumes you have not seen before. It is a luxury to allow yourself to be amazed in a world where everything is predictable.” RONATIV started as a virtual project in 2010 using social media as the main drive for communication. In 2013 at the 3DEA Pop-up store in NYC, the first RONATIV prototype objects were produced using 3D printing technology. Later that
The Little Endless Column & The Little Table of Silence (aka Minitremu) by Monotremu Or “Eastern Blocks: Romanian Politics Go To Preschool,” as Sammy Media writes in Fast Company about this toy designed by artist couple Monotremu, which puts Brâncuși’s minimalist sculptures into play. A series of three-dimensional stackable blocks that, in certain configurations, take on the elegant proportions of Constantin Brâncuși’s monumental works in Târgu Jiu, Romania, these toys are driven by Brâncuși’s search for the “essence of things” through natural elements. Minitremu are thus made from wood, and painted
vibrant colors to offset the stark minimalism of the forms. The reference to Brâncuși also imbues the project with political dimensions. “One of our first goals was to de-institutionalize Brâncuși and bring him toward a tangible dimension for kids.” By doing so, the artists say they paid tribute to Brâncuși’s greatest quality, his “universality.” They do, however, acknowledge the difficulties of translating Brâncuși’s formidable oeuvre to a younger generation, or that the political implications of post-Communist Romania don’t necessarily translate to toddlers. Children always lose interest in toys that “do nothing,” they explain, “even if they’re coming from prodigious artists.”
Conversation generators
year Năstăsoiu went to a ceramic factory in Alba Iulia in Transylvania to produce the “Three Graces” using traditional porcelain manufacturing, and in April 2014 the virtual project was brought to reality in a solo show at Galateca Gallery in Bucharest. RONATIV continues as an ongoing project using the “native geometric DNA” of the map of Romania.
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MAKING WAVES: New Romanian Cinema
Founded in 1969 to celebrate American and international cinema, the Film Society of Lincoln Center works to recognize established and emerging filmmakers, support important new work, and enhance the awareness, accessibility, and understanding of the moving image. The Film Society produces the New York Film Festival, and presents or collaborates on Dance on Camera, Film Comment Selects, Human Rights Watch Film Festival, New Directors/New Films, NewFest, New York African Film Festival, New York Asian Film Festival, New York Jewish Film Festival, Open Roads: New Italian Cinema and Rendez-Vous with French Cinema. In addition to publishing Film Comment magazine, the Film Society presents the prestigious Chaplin Award. FSLC’s state-of-the-art Walter Reade Theater and the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, located at Lincoln Center, provide a home for year-round programs and the New York City film community. www.filmlinc.com The Film Society of Lincoln Center receives year-round support from offic ial
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media
premium
ho s p i tal i t y
s u p p o rte r s
The Romanian Film Initiative (RFI) came together in 2012 to safeguard the existence and the spirit of the Romanian Film Festival in New York, redesigned as Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema, and co-presented with the Film Society of Lincoln Center. Created by Corina Č˜uteu, Mihai Chirilov, and Oana Radu, the core team that initiated the festival in 2006 and has organized it ever since, RFI is a flagship of Film ETC. Association in Bucharest. Along with the continuation and expansion of Making Waves, RFI aims to develop and contribute to other projects interested in promoting Romanian cinema in the U.S., and the professionalization of the cultural sector in Romania and internationally. www.filmetc.org Festival partner
Festival Board Corina Șuteu, Festival President; Mihai Chirilov, Artistic Director; Oana Radu, Festival Manager, Romanian Film Initiative; Dennis Lim, Director of Cinematheque Programming, Film Society of Lincoln Center; Brian Ackerman, Programming Director, Jacob Burns Film Center Honorary Board The continuation and expansion of Making Waves has also been supported by an Honorary Board, which is made up of Scott Foundas, Senior Film Critic, Variety; actor Andi Vasluianu, our Festival Ambassador; visual artist Adrian Ghenie; documentary filmmaker and human rights activist Mona Nicoară; visual artist Dan Perjovschi; and festival friend Daiana Voiculescu. Film Society of Lincoln Center Lesli Klainberg, Eugene Hernandez, Thomas Newman, Courtney Ott, Gary Jaworski, Maria A. Ruiz Botsacos, Glenn Raucher, Michael Gibbons, Nicholas Kemp, Irene Richard, Jamie Kaufman, Farah Jindani, Jeff Delauter, David Goldberg, Haley Mednick, John Wildman, David Ninh, Rebecca Williamson, Karen Weeks, Alisha Neumaier, Brian Brooks, Rufus de Rham, Dan Sullivan,
Isa Cucinotta, Florence Almozini, Austin Lee Brown, Bryce Richardson, Kenneth Lau, Alison Goldberg, Amanda Marino, John Oursler, Benno Hotz, Sarah Mankoff, Matt Bolish, Laura Kern Romanian Film Initiative/Film ETC. Elvira Lupșa, Development Associate; Andra Stoica, Project Officer; Andra Matzal, Publicist – Romania; Elena Iacob, Amanda Feldman, Mihaela Nenciu Festival Publicist Julia Pacetti, JMP Verdant Communications
Program Editors Mihai Chirilov, Oana Radu Graphic Designer Carmen Gociu Festival logo courtesy of Dan Perjovschi
MAKING WAVES: New Romanian Cinema
FESTIVAL TEAM
Festival brochure printed by Kdo.ro
Fiscal Sponsor The Jacob Burns Film Center (www.burnsfilmcenter.org) Interns & Volunteers Rudolf Costin, Bogdan Georgescu, Radu Grigore, Ariel Nehorayoff, Cristian Panaite, Cătălina Stan, Courtney Willard Festival trailer Jump Cut Festival animation Penar.ro
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MAKING WAVES: New Romanian Cinema
Circle of Donors
FESTIVAL SUPPORTERS The ninth edition of Making Waves—and its third as an independent festival—has been made possible with the generous participation of numerous institutional and individual supporters from Romania, the U.S., and around the world. The Romanian Film Initiative would like to give a warm thank you to all our contributors, and in particular our enthusiastic, generous, and dedicated community of grassroot supporters who have joined the newly created Circle of Donors and Festival Club! Leading support
The Alex Leo Șerban Fellowship partner
Media partners
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Festival Angels: $10,000 – $20,000 Șerban Savu, Adrian Ghenie, Dan Perjovschi Festival Champions: $5,000 – $10,000 Marius Bercea, Mihai Pop, Mircea Cantor, Ștefania Magidson & Blue Heron Foundation, Dr. Daiana Voiculescu & Renzo Cianfanelli Festival Friends: $1,000 – $3,000 Edward C. Blau, Dana Buricea & Bill Sanford, Mica Ertegun, Anca Fronescu, Marie-France Ionesco & Lucian Pintilie, Tim Nădășan, Eva-Maria Preiswerk & Freundschaftsverein SchweizRumänien, Ovidiu Șandor, Dr. Andrew Solomon, Marina Sturdza
Festival Club
$200 – $500 Stephan Benedict, Andrei Both, Miruna Coca Cozma, Elena & Dan & Vlad Floroiu, Daniela Kamiliotis, John Leff, Veronica Lupu, Mona Nicoară &
$75 – $199 Nicholas Chang, Dan Chișu, Ana Maria Dragomir, Dana Enulescu, Monica Filimon, Vlad Iftinca & Lee Hall, Radu Jude, Sena Latif, Tudor Leu, Cristi Luca, Steve McCorkle, Cristian Mihăilescu, Adriana Mitu, Alexander Nanau, Dominique Nasta, Andreea Năstase, Ileana Radu, Marius Rădoi, unbtc.ro, Andreea Vălean, Cristina Vătulescu & Kiki Pop-Eleches $10 – $74 Radu Ciorniciuc, Ioana Frintu, Kyoko Hirano, Horia Iuonas, Carla Osman, Ana Maria Sandu, Maria Stoian, Sub Panou, Ciprian Suciu, Anamaria Terepka, Luiza Vasiliu & Anonymous
Making Waves would like to thank 42 Km Film, Activ Docs, Actoriedefilm.ro, Babeș-Bolyai University & Everyday Drama Workshop, Films Boutique, Hi Film Productions, Icon Production, Kinosseur, Les Herbes Folles Association, Libra Film, M-APPEAL, MediaPro Pictures, Micro Film, Rise and Shine World Sales, Romanian National Center of Cinema, Saga Film, and Viktoria Films. We would also like to acknowledge the support of Evgeny Gusyatinskiy, Mona Nicoară, Andrew Solomon, Masha Gessen, Cosmin Năsui, Oana Ioniță Năsui, Radu Stern, Vladimir Tismăneanu, and Marius Stan for their generous participation and contribution to the festival’s special events. Special thanks to Marius Chivu, Silviu Gherman, Dan Lungu, Vintilă Mihăilescu, and Tania Radu for their take on the festival films. We want to express our gratitude to the outstanding visual artist and friend Lucien Samaha who has photographically documented the festival celebrations since its first editions. A big thank you from RFI also goes to Velvet Moraru, Marta Marinescu, Sorin Ana, John Eisner, Michael Robertson, Tim O’Donnell, Cristian Neagoe, Anca Drăgoi/Partnership for the Arts, Svetlana Mihăilescu, Florin Mihăilescu, Raluca Gold, and Alina Sălcudeanu. Special thanks to Ambassador Simona Miculescu and Laurențiu Damian. Special thanks go also to Associate Professor Diana Nicolae & Radio/Television/Film Department in the College of Communication and Creative Arts at Rowan University, NJ; Terra Firma.
MAKING WAVES: New Romanian Cinema
Ed Rekosh, Carmen Paraschiv, Tania Radu & Dan C. Mihăilescu, Anda Onesa Lieberman, Corneliu Porumboiu, Redwave Films, Alex Salcianu, Marius Stan, Vladimir Tismăneanu
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MAKING WAVES: New Romanian Cinema
FESTIVAL AT A GLANCE Thu, Dec 4 7:00 pm
OPENING NIGHT: The Japanese Dog d. Tudor Cristian Jurgiu, 90m In person: Tudor Cristian Jurgiu
5:15 pm
Roxanne d. Valentin Hotea, 98m
[WRT]
7:00 pm
New Romanian Shorts, 134m In person: director Daniel Sandu
[AMP] FREE
7:30 pm
Where Are You Bucharest? d. Vlad Petri, 80m / In person: Vlad Petri
[WRT]
1:00 pm
I’m an Old Communist Hag d. Stere Gulea, 94m In person: Stere Gulea and actress Ana Ularu
[WRT]
3:30 pm
The Second Game d. Corneliu Porumboiu, 97m
[WRT]
5:00 pm
SPECIAL EVENT: Hedda Sterne rediscovered In person: Cosmin Năsui & Radu Stern
[AMP] FREE
5:30 pm
Roxanne d. Valentin Hotea, 98m
[WRT]
6:30 pm
New Romanian Shorts, 134m In person: director Daniel Sandu
[AMP] FREE
7:45 pm
The Journey ( Moromeții ) d. Stere Gulea, 151m / In person: Stere Gulea
[WRT]
[WRT] Sun, Dec 7
Fri, Dec 5 4:00 pm
The Japanese Dog d. Tudor Cristian Jurgiu, 90m In person: Tudor Cristian Jurgiu
[WRT]
6:00 pm
I’m an Old Communist Hag d. Stere Gulea, 94m In person: Stere Gulea & actress Ana Ularu
[WRT]
8:30 pm
Quod Erat Demonstrandum d. Andrei Gruzsniczki, 107m In person: actor Florin Piersic Jr. & producer Velvet Moraru
[WRT]
Sat, Dec 6
30
1:30 pm
Winter Journey d. Sergei Taramajev & Liubov Lvova, 95m
[WRT]
3:30 pm
Children 404 d. Pavel Loparev & Askold Kurov, 76m
[WRT]
4:30 pm
Where Are You Bucharest? d. Vlad Petri, 80m / In person: Vlad Petri
[WRT]
5:00 pm
PANEL “Creative Freedom Through Cinema” Andrew Solomon, Masha Gessen, Mona Nicoară
[AMP] FREE
7:00 pm
CLOSING NIGHT: Viktoria d. Maya Vitkova, 155m
[WRT]
Mon, Dec 8
The Film Society of Lincoln Center WRT: Walter Reade Theater 165 W 65th Street, north side between Broadway & Amsterdam, upper level AMP: Amphitheater, Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center 144 W 65th Street, south side between Broadway & Amsterdam
TICKETS: Single screening tickets: $13; $9 students & seniors (62+); $8 Film Society members. See more and pay less with the 3+ film discount package starting at $30; $24 students & seniors; $21 members. The package discount prices apply with the purchase of tickets to three films or more. All Access Pass: $75. See all films in Making Waves, including the Opening Night and Closing Night screenings! Available for purchase exclusively online. To purchase tickets: ONLINE at filmlinc.com IN PERSON at the Film Society box offices Free Screenings: Seating will be first come, first served on a space-available basis.
MAKING WAVES: New Romanian Cinema
Screening Venues:
Making Waves continues December 5-10 at the Jacob Burns Film Center www.burnsfilmcenter.org
www.filmetc.org
www.filmlinc.com