Those Intrepid Men and Their Complex Machines

Those Intrepid Men and Their Complex Machines 1987

1

Let’s work, but how? reproachfully asks one of the workers from the Station for the Mechanization of Agriculture (SMA) in Țăndărei, where filmmaker T. Barta was sent to document the lives of an agricultural brigade. Commissioned by the Ministry of Culture, the film was intended for screening in cinemas. Eight days had been allocated for the full shoot, without prior recce. On the first day, the filmmaker gathered the men round a fire—without having informed the local mayor, the Party Secretary or the head of the SMA, as was customary at the time—and recorded their thoughts about their work: sound only, no images. Once that was completed, the remaining days were dedicated to collecting images of the community.

1987

CHELU

CHELU 2024

10.00

Portrait of Florin, a 45-year-old man living with residual schizophrenia. Despite the challenges posed by his condition, he celebrates his birthday with his friends met on the internet, though this is merely an exception to his everyday life.

2024

Lucky Girl Syndrome

Lucky Girl Syndrome 2024

1

A self-reflecting collage made up of the director’s thoughts and moods while relocating to an alien, poetic Zurich.

2024

Un simplu… telefon

Un simplu… telefon 1970

1

Set in a scientific environment, the plot of Șerban Marinescu's movie depicts the system of the piles and obligations. The editor of a specialized journal receives a phone call from an influential acquaintance in the scientific field, who asks him to publish the article of one of his protégés. The editor undertakes to print it on account of previous favors, even though the proposed article is more in the realm of speculation. At the same time, for lack of space, a scientifically valuable article with immediate applicability has to be postponed to the next issue of the journal.

1970

Pelicule de familie

Pelicule de familie 2024

1

A random post on Facebook: "A few rolls of film have been found abandoned for decades somewhere in an old attic!" Digitizing the film brings to light family footage: ordinary home scenes, birthdays, holidays, visits, outings. The search for those who appear in the footage is thrilling, and the result is an immersion in time, with family stories and dramas painted in the visual aesthetic of 8mm film.

2024

Family Weekend

Family Weekend 1970

1

A visit to the director's hometown is the opportunity to bring to an end a series of sensitive, long-postponed discussions targeting topics such as identity, the drag scene in Romania, sexual orientation and the social pressure imposed by all of this. Three days that fail to find a clear conclusion, an attempt at dialogue in which the family dynamic evolves from comic to tragic and tender.

1970

Blue Planet

Blue Planet 1970

1

Five simple people past their first youth have the band "Dio Family". Two taxi drivers, a painter, a baker and a nurse try to get out of the monotony of everyday life through their passion for music. Lack of money, free time, fatigue, failures are at every step, but nothing stops them, because they feel that if they give up they will lose this last bet to find their happiness.

1970

Between Silence and Sin

Between Silence and Sin 2024

1

Ana Blandiana, one of Europe’s most important poets, is a symbol in the fight for democracy and freedom of speech, values again under threat. A history refracted through poetry, 'Between Silence and Sin' explores the power of the word as the last bastion of a nation’s collective soul in the face of oppression.

2024

Today I was Young and Pretty

Today I was Young and Pretty 2007

1

Most of the Gypsy population of Clejani, a village located some 50 km away from Bucharest, traditionally consists of musicians going back for many generations. The film shows how the musicians relate to daily life and the way their perception of reality influences their music. Firm belief in superstitions, the unavoidable blows of fate, communication with the dead, become the sources of inspiration and expression, of joy and sorrow. Alexandra Gulea’s unconventional documentary takes us on a musical journey to the origins of romanian gypsy music.

2007

10, Autumn Street

10, Autumn Street 2022

6.00

A man in his 40s comes home one night, and finds an unknown woman in his apartment.

2022

Fructul interzis

Fructul interzis 1970

6.00

What if as a result of the Original Sin, God didn't cast out both Adam and Eve from Paradise? What if the actual punishment were more sinister than that? If you had to wait an entire life just to see your lover, could you endure it?

1970

Rhythms

Rhythms 1970

1

One of the very rare Romanian abstract films. Rhythms presents concrete objects that break down into all sorts of colours, shapes and shifting substances.

1970

Elephant Far Away

Elephant Far Away 2020

6.00

An alien stuck on Earth because of the pandemic sends a report to the base of her home planet, through which she shares thoughts on people, dreams and trees.

2020

Ana

Ana 2012

1

Two friends make a bet that Valera won’t milk Ana’s goat. In the night they come drunk and break into Ana’s yard. Ana tries to stop them and becomes their victim.

2012

Maya

Maya 1995

1

In Sanskrit “maya” means illusion. A documentary – offering extraordinary access – about Gregorian Bivolaru and his yoga school, then at the height of its success.

1995

Shriek into the Eardrum

Shriek into the Eardrum 1993

6.00

An unconventional chronicle of the literary and artistic Romanian avant-garde. The film recreates the atmosphere of those frenzied years (1916-1947) in the spirit of the avant-garde, through a bewildering collage of fundamental texts and images.

1993

The Chalice. Of Sons and Daughters

The Chalice. Of Sons and Daughters 2022

6.00

Traditional Roma-communities of Romania are culturally rich communities, ruled with complicated rituals and customs. Marriage is maybe the most set in stone such custom, with everything about it being under very strict community control. What keeps everyone alert is Roma marriage’s highest stake: fertility and conceiving boys.

2022