Beginning of the cinema and communist period
In 1896, the premises of the French-language newspaper L'Indépendance roumaine hosted the first film screenings by the Lumière brothers. In 1912, Grigore Brezeanu made the first major Romanian film, Indépendance de la Roumanie, an evocation of the 1877-1878 war against the Turks. In the 1930s, Romanian cinema underwent significant development thanks to the passion of certain amateurs and the introduction of state subsidies, which accompanied the creation of the country's first studios in Bucharest and the beginning of international recognition. At the Venice Film Festival in 1939, Paul Călinescu's Romanian film ȚaraMoților(The Land of the Moți) won the prize for best documentary. During the Communist period, the state controls everything and injects a huge amount of money into the film industry. Huge studios were opened north of Bucharest, in Buftea. Films, documentaries and cartoons (a great Romanian specialty) are shot here, for national needs and to promote the regime. The films were strictly controlled, even censored. Despite this, a huge number of films were made, and in 1957 the National Film Archive was created. At the same time, over 6,000 cinemas opened across the country, which seemed to have caught the cinema bug. By 1960, Romanians were flocking to cinemas in droves. Cinema was cheap, and films and documentaries were more interesting than the single, soporific local TV channel. Productions from other Eastern European countries are imported to complement Romanian programming. So it wasn't Walt Disney and manga that made children dream under Ceaușescu, but local cartoons, Czech (cartoons or children's films like Arabella), Russian(The Wolf and the Rabbit) or Polish(Lolek i Bolek). Many films from the Ceaușescu era were inspired by national literary works and exalted Romanian heroes in the form of historical frescoes.
1960-1990: the turning point
The first real international success came with Liviu Ciulei's Pădurea spânzuraților(The Forest of the Hanged, 1965), which won a prize at Cannes. Subsequently, other films (cartoons, documentaries) won awards at Cannes. One of the most popular directors was Sergiu Nicolaescu, with his action films. After 1989, the country lacked the means to put the ideas of its many filmmakers on reel. From 28 feature-length films shot in 1989, there were only 2 in 1998! During this period, only two films won international awards: Dan Pița's Hotel de luxe (1992) and Lucian Pintilie's Terminus Paradis (1998). This work by Lucian Pintilie (a director already famous in the 1970s) received the Special Jury Prize at Venice 1998. His film Un été inoubliable (1993, starring Kristin Scott Thomas, Claudiu Bleonț and Olga Tudorache), the story of a border garrison, was already a hit at the time. The work was inspired by a short story by Petru Dumitriu, La Salade. The late 1990s saw the arrival of American productions, which massively stifled local production. Romania thus became a setting for film shoots. Thanks to its two biggest studios, Castel Films in Snagov and Mediapro in Buftea (located near Bucharest), Romania has attracted countless foreign film shoots since the late 1990s, some of them very well-known. In possession of an immense stock of costumes and props dating from the Communist regime, these studios also have a well-trained, inexpensive workforce (actors, technicians). Now based in Buftea, so as not to become a mere relocation site for major European and American productions, the studio hopes to produce more and more of Romania's up-and-coming films.
The Romanian New Wave
Since the 2000s, a new generation of prolific and talented young Romanian directors has been emerging. Led by Cristi Puiu, this generation has earned the nickname of the "Romanian New Wave". In films that are often minimalist, with a distinctly black sense of humor, these directors explore the torments of a Romanian society that has plunged headlong into capitalism, through the singular stories of ordinary citizens. In 2004, Cristi Puiu directed The Death of Dante Lăzărescu. The film won an award in the "Un certain regard" selection at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. In 2007, director Cristian Mungiu won the Palme d'Or for his excellent film 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, paving the way for international recognition. The film is an unrivalled achievement in the history of Romanian cinema. Other films from this period include Corneliu Porumboiu's 12h08 à Bucarest (2006), Cătălin Mitulescu's Comment j'ai fêté la fin du monde (2006) and Cristian Nemescu's California Dreamin. Awarded a prize at Cannes in the "Un certain regard" selection, this caustic film tells the story of an American intervention in Kosovo. High-profile Franco-Romanian director Radu Mihăileanu has won numerous awards for his films Train de vie (1998) and Va, vis et deviens (2005). In 2009, he released Le Concert, an extravagant tragi-comedy about a group of Russian musicians who come to play at the Théâtre du Châtelet, posing as the Bolshoi Orchestra. 2015 and 2016 are very good years for the Romanian seventh art. Radu Muntean directs L'Étage du dessous, a brilliant crime thriller nominated eight times at the Cannes Film Festival. Cristi Puiu returns with a bang with Sieranevada (2016), a work about settling scores and family stories in Bucharest in 2015, in official selection at the Cannes Film Festival that year. The same year, director Bogdan Mirică released Dogs, a kind of western set in remote Romania, which won the Fipresci prize at Cannes. Cristian Mungiu directs Baccalauréat (2016), a touching story about education and corrupt Romanian society, through the lives of a father and daughter. The film won the Prix de la mise en scène at Cannes the same year.
Land of inspiration for international cinema
French director Tony Gatlif has a passion for Romania, especially as the land of a rich Romani culture that is in some ways a sister to the one he himself inherited (the gypsy culture), and is known for seeking out the contrasting avatars of the gypsy people in different countries. In his films, he creates an intimate atmosphere through the exuberance of his characters. In Romania, Gatlif shot Gadjo Dilo in 1998 with Romain Duris, then Transylvania in 2006 with Asia Argento. To make these films, Gatlif criss-crossed the country, immersing himself in its traditions, music and folklore. Sensitive to the mix of communities that exist in the country and in search of the soul of the Gypsy people, he chose to follow characters with strong temperaments. Some of the scenes in Transylvania, for example, were shot in Sighișoara or in the Maramureș region. Tony Gatlif's films bring a romantic vision of the country and Roma culture in particular. In 2005, director Isabelle Mergault flew to Romania for Je vous trouve très beau, starring Michel Blanc and Medeea Marinescu. This touching work recounts the meeting between Aymé (Blanc), a gruff French farmer, and the young Romanian Elena (Marinescu), through a marriage agency. This sensitive film won the César for Best First Film in 2007. In 2018, Belgian director Marta Bergman took up the subject of arranged marriages in the very good Seule à mon mariage. Shot between Belgium and Romania, the film tells the story of Pamela, a young mother living in a small cabin with her grandmother and baby, dreaming of freedom and adventure. Her adventures take her to Belgium, where Pamela hopes to change her destiny. In 2020, the film was nominated in three categories at Belgium's Magritte Film Awards, and walked away with the Best Costume Design prize.
On the small screen
As far as TV programs are concerned, Romania doesn't disappoint, offering us three previously unseen works, starting with the Las Fierbinți series. This series, on Romanian screens since 2012, sets its plot in the small village of Fierbinți and exposes the lives of its inhabitants. Mainly known for its poor quality, this program nevertheless attracts 2 million viewers per episode and inspires Hungary and Slovakia to make their own versions(A mi kis falunk for Hungary and Horná Dolná for Slovakia). In a completely different register, let's mention the series Umbre(Shadows, 2014) produced by HBO Europe. Shot like a film, Umbre tells the story of a broke cab driver who decides to do business with the mafia to make ends meet. Unfortunately, a tragic event turns the driver upside down, and he tries everything in his power to get out of this dangerous milieu. Shot in Bucharest in just 70 days, the series features no fewer than 900 local extras, HBO working on the principle that a work set in a particular country (in this case, Romania) should be authentically produced in that country. In another genre, Comrade Detective (2017) is the most Romanian American series seen to date. Indeed, directed by Brian Gatewood and produced by the giant Amazon this time, this series is inspired by American action programs of the 1980s and presents the episodes as a lost Romanian series commissioned by the Communists to promote their ideals during the Cold War. Each episode of the series is shot in Romania, with local actors, and dubbed in English (the two main characters are dubbed by Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levit).
We can't finish without mentioning the phenomenon that is the series Mercredi. Released on Netflix at the end of 2022, the first season of Wednesday, its original title, was a resounding international success, and some of the filming locations have become veritable places of pilgrimage for fans the world over. In addition to Bucharest Polytechnic University, the capital's Botanical Garden and Sinaia railway station, the most famous site is Cantacuzino Castle in Bușteni, chosen by Tim Burton as the setting for "Nevermore Academy". The site has enjoyed a veritable tourist boom since the series went on air.
