Author: Antoanela Safca

The Romanian revolution of 1989 was as much a live TV event as a street revolt, storming into people’s lives from behind the screens. Revolutionaries took refuge in the National Television building, where they broadcast through the noise of bullets the uprising happening on the streets. You could say it was reality TV, only of a different kind. No script, danger palpable, lives forever disrupted.

Every year around 23 of December, Romanian TV programs would scramble to unveil new facts, new heroes, new angles for understanding history.

Do you remember living through significant events glued to your TV, your life interrupted by on-screen events? Did you attend royal weddings and funerals, president inaugurations? Lived through Huricane Katrina? What world event did you participate in through your  TV screen?

Our next film, 12:08 East of Bucharest is the perfect cinematic tribute to the Romanian Revolution of 1989. Book your pass now.

 

 

An alcoholic history teacher, a widower and a small town TV presenter walk into a television studio… that is the premise of our next EuRaw Stories film.

Corneliu Porumboiu’s 12:08 East of Bucharest is one of the first films that signaled the arrival of the Romanian New Wave in cinema (which continues to thrive with another win at Cannes this year).

At 12:08pm on 22 December 1989 dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was overthrown through a popular revolution. Hearing about the unrest on TV, people around the country flocked to the streets to protest against Ceausescu and support the uprising.

16 years after the revolution, the TV show host in 12:08 East of Bucharest is trying to find out if there was revolution in his town, if anyone went to the streets before the demise of the communist regime was confirmed on TV. ‘Was there or wasn’t there?’ is the literal translation of the film title.

Did anyone take to the streets before 12:08? And what about the ones that went after? Are they real revolutionaries or just followers?  The investigation into the past becomes more and more foggy and humorous as everyone recounts their own different version of  events.

The New York Times described 12:08 East of Bucharest as ‘acutely funny’. Do not be fooled by the grim grey streets and the moroseness of the characters, there is wise and gentle humour to be enjoyed in this film.

12:08 East of Bucharest screens on 18 September at Library at the Docks. Get your pass now.

 

…to start a new career or follow a dream. Like starting to act at 85, which is what Esther Gorintin (aka Eka in Since Otar left) did.

‘All three actresses are wonderful, but…the best actress currently on New York screens is Esther Gorintin, a 90-year-old Pole who provides the emotional centre for Julie Bertucceli’s delicate, bittersweet comedy-drama.’ So raved The New York Post when they set their eyes on Esther. And their praise was mirrored by many other critics.

Reading these reviews, it’s hard to imagine Esther hasn’t been acting her whole life. Make up your mind about Esther’s acting skills tomorrow at our 2.30pm screening.

One thing most Eastern European countries shared, especially during Soviet times, is a wide-spread fascination with the West. In the absence of free access and real interactions with it, Eastern Europeans would often see it as a promised land, any connection with it treasured, any relative who lived in the West revered.

Even before the Iron Curtain made Western Europe hard to access, Eastern European aristocracy in 19th and early 20th centuries spoke  French in social circles. If you wanted to appear sophisticated and make an impression, conversing in French might have done the trick.

Watch out for all the clues director Julie Bertuccelli sprinkles throughout the film to suggest how characters idealise France.

Don’t even dream about being completely honest with your loved ones, urged philosopher Alain de Botton earlier this week at the Melbourne Town Hall.

Since Otar Left is a perfect example of lies becoming a little… complicated. The three characters live in Georgia, a former Soviet republic where lies and deceit had long been a way of life. But here they lie to protect each other from life’s tragedies and disappointments. When her brother Otar dies in an accident in Paris, Marina keeps the truth from her mother to save her the heartbreak in her old age. But a complicated lie is never so easy to keep up and it affects everyone involved.

This is a film that will question your known truths and values in the best possible way. And isn’t that what we need art for?

So go on, tell us what you would lie to your loved ones about?

Get your pass for Since Otar left.

 

We have conducted extensive research (thanks Irina) and came up with 4 true and not so-true facts about Macedonia. Have a guess which ones might be true and which ones not.

1. Mother Theresa was born in Macedonia
2. Macedonia has more mountains and peaks than any other country in the world
3. It won the Eurovision song contest twice
4. During the reign of Alexander the Great, the Kingdom of Macedonia was the most powerful state in the world.

Don’t miss our screening of The Third Half and go a little further into this wonderful country.

Ready! Steady! Guess!

When it comes down to sports, you could say there are two kinds of Australians:

• AFL fanatics
• AFL agnostics.

Whatever category you fit it, The Third Half is the film for you. Here’s why:

AFL fanatics – yes, you are right, AFL is amazing and the greatest sport among all, it transcend everything and everyone. AFL’s European sibling, soccer, can give you a glimpse into what role sport plays in other parts of the world. Spoiler alert: pretty important one!

AFL agnostics – yes, you are right, there is so much more to life than AFL, than sports even. This film is also about much much more, about the things that bring us together and make us human.

Sport lovers and haters alike are invited to attend this wonderful film.

The Third Half screens on 26 June at EuRaw Stories.