Astra Film

Freedom, I'll Wolf You Down!

Director: Cornel Mihalache
Country: Romania
Year: 2002
Length: 39

Every year, the political and financial elite of the Roma minority in Romania come to a place near an orthodox monastery for what they claim to be the Day of the Roma all over the world. It is an opportunity to show off their luxury cars, heavy gold necklaces and piles of banknotes in a sort of competition. It is also an attempt to promote the image of the Roma ethnic group in the eyes of the majority. Still, most of the Roma live in Romania in extreme poverty and have little in common with these people who pretend to represent them. This outrageous gathering of the richest and most powerful Roma in the country arouses people's curiosity. Romanian politicians find it a good opportunity to collect the votes of the largest minority group in the country, while evangelists see it as a source of proselytes. From the interviews of the participants at the celebration, who are very willing and flattered to speak for the camera, it becomes clear that their perception of freedom is synonymous with wealth. It is their wealth that makes outsiders envious, and the film hints at this envy felt by many people throughout Romania.

Iagalo

Director: Paul Ţanicui(see interview )
Country: Romania
Year: 2001
Length: 20

The protagonists of the film are the members of a Gypsy music band. People in the community call them Iagale, meaning fiery, because of their electrifying music. Their fame goes far beyond their village home. In the film, they speak proudly about their admirers, who include stars like Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis. But in spite of their international success and fame, they are not completely happy because at home they do not feel accepted as part of the majority.

The Man With Thousand Eyes

Director: Alexandru Solomon
Country: Romania
Year: 2002
Length: 52

Called the dean of photojournalists, Josif Berman, who lived in Romania between 1890 and 1941, was attracted to the avant-garde movement and made a great contribution to the development of ethnographic photography. As a photographer, Berman documented extraordinary social events, witnessed crucial historical moments, and knew just about all the big names of his time who had an influence over the destiny of Romania. This film is about a man whose life was meaningful only as long as he could photograph, and about his photos which bear witness to an era.

Masquerade

Director: Cornel Gheorghiţă(see interview )
Country: Romania/ France
Year: 2001
Length: 52

The film offers various perspectives on the traditional winter rituals in Moldova, North Romania. From Christmas to New Year's Day, the rural villages are the stage for a series of rites and ceremonies. They start with the slaughter of the pigs and culminate with a masquerade where all community members are present as actors or spectators. Opening with a nostalgic view, based on his childhood memories, the filmmaker later introduces the rituals as they are performed today. He allows the actors and participants in the rituals to explain the meaning and origin as they know it from oral tradition, while he attempts to link the masks and characters to ancient Egypt, and Greek and Roman mythology. The film analyses tradition and innovation in rural customs, ceremonies and handicrafts, and explores their impact on the lives of the local people.

Penitentiary

Director: Cătălin Ştefănescu
Country: Romania
Year: 2000
Length: 62

Shot in a maximum-security prison in Romania, the film explores the world of the inmates sentenced to life inprisonment. Rather than focusing on the crimes for which they were convicted, the filmmaker inquires about their perception of freedom, punishment and God. Their stories depict prison life and its set of unwritten rules, and how survival is directly related to knowing and observing them. They describe their first day in prison and the twisted hierarchy they have to respect. Their accounts devulge the wrath of informers, the indignities of over-crowded conditions, and the use of self-inflicted illnesses to escape for a few days in the hospital. The friendships that are formed are based on the need for companionship and survival rather than on true affinity. Although an impossibility, they all hope to get out some day, which is the only thing that keeps them going.

The Restorer

Director: Sorin Ilieşiu
Country: Romania
Year: 2001
Length: 15

Count Tibor Kalnoky was born in Germany, and lived there, as well as in the USA, Holland and France. Some years ago, he decided to settle in Transylvania, being the descendant of one of the oldest Transylvanian noble families. Today he is a public figure and an active participant in the development of the region. When he first went there in search of his roots, he found the two family castles in ruin. The film follows his account of the restoration process, which in the count's opinion must be much more than reconstructing walls. Restoration can be a paradox, as he puts it, and it is difficult to change the face of things without destroying their spirit. The decoration of the rooms, combining tradition and modern comfort with exquisite taste, proves that Kalnoky succeeded to find this balance. More than just a story of the restoration of two old buildings, the film is an allegory of how a man reconnects to the spirit of his roots.

Rituals

Director: Anca Damian
Country: Romania
Year:2001
Length: 16

In a cinematic essay on life in an isolated village in the Baragan plain, the film explores the indefinite border between reality and myth, revealing the spiritual meanings the villagers assign to the most common things surrounding them.

Shelter

Director: Gheorghe Şfaiţer
Country: Romania
Year: 2001
Length: 55

An excellent anthropological approach to the everyday life of an old woman, who lives in a modest house in the mountains far from her village of birth. The filmmaker follows her daily routine with great sensitivity, conveying the hardships she faces living alone. The film documents the ethnografic aspects of her rural life, such as bread making, sheep milking, and haycock building, in an organic manner which does not overpower the flow of the story. For her, the days and seasons unfold slowly. Occasionally, the simple pattern of her lonely life is punctuated by news from the village brought by her son. In a slow, yet captivating rhythm, the film succeeds to portray a world very different from our fast-paced reality.

Staroverii - The Old Believers

Director: Dumitru Grosei
Country: Romania
Year: 2002
Length: 52

In Russian, Staroveri means believers of old faith. Their story began as early as the 16th century, when the Patriarch of the Russian Church, with the support of the Czar, imposed religious reforms in Russia. Those who repelled them were brutally persecuted and forced to seek refuge in Siberia or further. Many fled to Europe and some even as far as China, Japan or America, and the community of the old Russians in Romania is among the largest. This film explores the extraordinary power of this community to preserve their language, customs and beliefs, finding in their Christian faith the source for their resistance.

Transylvania Mythica

Director: Aurora Gabriela Runcan
Country: Romania
Year: 2001
Length: 14

The villagers in the Apuseni Mountains in the Carpathians celebrate St. George's Day by performing a ritual rooted in the pre-Christian times. The ritual was originally designed to purify people and their animals, and ensure the fertility of land for the coming agrarian year. Similarly, it was meant to keep away evil spirits, who were likely to descend on earth on that particular night. This film follows the ritual as it happens today, giving voice to the performers' current interpretations of its meaning.

Two Villages: Modernization and Demodernization of the Romanian Villages

Director: Alina Mungiu-Pippidi
Country: Romania
Year: 2002
Length: 49

The film looks at the extremes of communist interference in the lives of the inhabitants of two rural villages in Romania. In fifty years of totalitarian regime, rural society underwent dramatic changes. The film examines Nucsoara, a mountain village, whose inhabitants opposed the communist regime, and Scornicesti, a village in the plain, which was used as the emblem of collectivization. Nucsoara remained one of the few isles of private property in communist Romania in spite of the fact that many of the inhabitants were arrested, tortured and even executed due to their resistance. By comparison, those in Scornicesti, Ceausescu's birthplace, were subjected to absurd experiments of social engineering. The two villages are representative of the destiny of rural society in Romania. Do authentic peasants still exist? What is their life like in the aftermath of communism? This film follows the story of the two villages since 1946, in search of answers to these questions.

University Professors

Director: Elena Raicu
Country: Romania
Year: 2002
Length: 52

Through the accounts of some university professors, the film offers a personal view of the recent history of university life in the city of Cluj. It looks at the time period between the end of World War II and the present day. The professors' careers started in the troubled 50s, when the newly installed communist regime was imposing its own system of values. Their professions, as well as their personal lives, flourished at a time when all aspects of life were controlled by the authorities. Through these personal testimonials, the film presents one generation's take on the cultural and academic life at the Cluj University.

The World of Sounds, Traditional Romanian Musical Instruments

Director: Nicolae Mărgineanu
Country: Romania
Year: 2002
Length: 58

The film presents the diverse, traditional musical instruments of Romania in an encyclopedic manner. The particular sound of each instrument is analyzed from the point of view of its role in the specific tunes of the region from whence it comes. Besides the classic wind and string instruments, things like tree leaves or fish scales are also used to produce music. In describing the variety of traditional instruments, the film draws a musical map of Romania.