Astra Film

99% Bucharest

Director: Ovidiu Georgescu
Country: Romania
Year: 2002
Length: 10

By means of a colourful patchwork of moving pictures dubbed by a dense narrated essay, this short film depicts present-day Bucharest as a city of contrasts. A European capital city combining Western ambitions with the laissez-faire of the Balkans.

A Trip To Romania

Director: Anca Damian
Country: Romania
Year: 2004
Length: 56

French jazz composer and trumpet player Michel Marre, an admirer of Romanian traditional music, decided to make a research trip to Romania. Shot and edited in an informal style, the film follows his journey. His experiences are used as a pretext to reveal subjective impressions and experiences of the Western musician meeting his Romanian colleagues in their own environment.

Adam and Eve

Director: Dite Dinesz
Country: Romania
Year: 2003
Length: 24

The film is shot in a remote Romanian mountain village. Here, the men, like biblical Adam, work hard in the field, day after day. The women, like Eve, keep the house and have many children. Based on interviews, the film tells stories of the past and talks about hardships of the present. It alternates between splendid mountain scenery and moments in the daily life of the villagers. The filmmaker differentiates between the roles of men and women in village life. While men are observed working in the field, women are filmed in the setting of their homes, where they spend the largest part of their lives. This is a film with touching stories about people living in a dying rural world.

The Curse

Director: Nicoară Mihali, Doru Filipaş
Country: Romania
Year: 2003
Length: 20

More than thirty years ago, in a village in north Romania's Maramures region, a young family was having their first child. Everyone was happy, as the infant was a healthy boy. Soon, the baby developed a mysterious disease, which deformed and paralyzed his limbs. He was also showing signs of mental disorder. The doctors diagnosed muscular dystrophy, paralysis, and mental retardation. The second child came, and shortly afterward, the same symptoms appeared. The couple did not give up hope to have a healthy child. However, their third son suffered the same unfortunate fate as his brothers. The film goes beyond the shocking image of three disabled brothers. It analyzes the traditional beliefs, on which the villagers base their comments, regarding the tragic destiny of this family.

The Ghost on TV

Director: Marina Andronache, Cosmin Mititelu
Country: Romania
Year: 2004
Length: 20

In February 2004, a ritual exhumation in the village of Celaru, in south Romania, was news on every Romanian TV channel. Reporters invaded the village and interviewed the local people. This attention served to re-open the controversy between pagan rituals and Christian norms. According to ancient beliefs, the 'evil dead' become ghosts and remain, in this world, to haunt the living. The only remedy is to open the grave and perform certain rituals. This usually involves stabbing the heart of the deceased. The film investigates various opinions, of the local people, concerning this ancient custom. Further, it analyzes their reactions to the presence of the TV crews.

Hired To Be Happy

Director: George Luca
Country: Romania
Year: 2003
Length: 19

Romanian TV, in recent years, has been invaded by sitcoms. To the despair of some, and the delight of many, you come across them every day while changing the channels. So, whether you like it or not, you get to know the sitcom stars. The roars of laughter in the background also become familiar. But how often do you wonder about the source of these laughs? The film observes a group of extras hired to provide the laugh track for a well-rated sitcom, on a private Romanian TV channel. Most of these people have quite sad stories to tell. They are either unemployed or retired, and desperately need to add something to their low incomes. At the same time, because they need to keep busy, this occasional job offers them more than just money. It makes them feel useful, even special, as they take great pride in what they are doing. These people have found that laughter can be a solution to poverty and alienation.

The Land Is Waiting

http://www.thelandiswaiting.ro

Director: Laurenţiu Calciu
Country: Romania
Year: 2004
Length: 60

The film explores the life of an extremely poor family, living in a village in northeast Romania. The parents have made incredible efforts to send all ten of their children to school. Five of them have even made it to the university in the city. The film focuses on Mihai, one of their sons. After less than one year of study, Mihai had to give up Theological School. He chose to return to the village and help his family work the tiny plot of land they own. We follow him as he copes with the hardships of everyday rural life. Because he plans to return to the university next year, he uses every spare moment to study for his exams. He talks about his short experience in the city, and about the marginalization of the students of rural origin. Daily routine is interrupted by the occasional conflicts with his overworked mother. However, there are also the little joys of the household, such as when a calf is born or the goslings hatch. The filmmaker maintains an objective yet intimate approach, of the destiny of a young man who is caught between two worlds.

Manu

Director: Gheorghe Şfaiţer
Country: Romania
Year: 2003
Length: 94

The film examines the foster care system in Romania through the case of Manuela, or Manu, an abandoned Gypsy girl. The policy of placing abandoned children into the care of foster families, rather than institutionalising them, is relatively new in Romania. Generally, low-income families apply for this task. The allowance they receive for each foster child, although relatively small, is meaningful to the family budget. This observational documentary follows Manu's everyday life at the farm of her temporary family. Each day brings new discoveries and new hardships for her. Nevertheless, Manu is happy because, even in her provisional environment, she feels loved and protected. Her natural mother has not made any attempt, for two years, to contact her. Accordingly, she has been officially declared an abandoned child and put on the adoption list. Manu's deepest concern is that her life could change at any moment.

Maramures

Director: Marius Tabacu
Country: Romania
Year:
Length: 50

The film depicts the colorful world of Maramures, in north Romania. In this one locale, there exist diverse ethnic communities of Romanians, Hungarians, Jews and Ukrainians. Though each community speaks its own language, together their histories define the common chronicle of this place. The film gives them each a voice to tell stories of dramatic moments in their history. One such account recalls the deportation of the Jews, and their current struggle against poverty. This is a film about tradition as well as the present. It captures the pace of their lives, and keeps the rhythm of the spectacular scenery of the place.

The Miracle Man

Director: Cătălin Ştefănescu
Country: Romania
Year: 2002
Length: 27

The film is an intimate portrait of an extraordinary character. Many years ago, Ioan Mates chose to live in solitude. Without any special training or education, he was able to manufacture all sorts of firearms. For this reason people called him 'the miracle man'. His weapons had been the passion of his life, and he was devastated when the authorities confiscated them. Now he is completely alone, living in a world of his own, reading old books and talking in rhymes. The miracle man lives at the twilight between reality and illusion.

The Curse of the Hedgehog

Director: Dumitru Budrala
Country: Romania
Year: 2004
Length: 93

„I care for my donkey more than I do for my  for my own man and kids. But now it’d dead. If I had a donkey now, I would live like a member of Parliament”- concludes Turica, one of the main character in the film. She and her relatives wander from village to village, carrying handmades brooms and baskets, which they try to trade for food. The filmmaker goes beyond stereotypes, following an extremely poor Gypsy in their survival winter trips.

The film follows the life of an extended Roma family for a whrole year. They belong to the “Baiesi “group of Roma, who live in extreme poverty. The filmmaker accompanied them on the way from their dwelling place in the mountain to the lowland villages, where they try to trade handmade goods for food or money. These winter tours are survival trips for them, as they have no other income whatsoever. However, the film is more than the story of their struggle to survive. During the 100 minutes, we come to understand why they refuse to work the land, and how they relate to the Romania shepherds, and to the rich Baesi from their village they call “businessmen”, who make large fortunes from selling fake rings abroad. We discover how mythological thinking is activated in their everyday life, along with their Christian Orthodox religiousness. By watching this film, we achieve a better understanding of the absurdities and the pain that fill the lives of these people living on the edge of society, and we come to admire the wit, and the humour, which help them to come through.