CULTURAL AGENDA OF
THE EMBASSY OF ROMANIA IN WASHINGTON DC
DECEMBER 2007
FILM SCREENING: December 8 at 2:30 p.m.
California Dreamin’ (endless)
Lauded at this year’s Festival de Cannes, director Cristian Nemescu (tragically killed in a crash before the film’s final post-production) was inspired by an event that had occurred in the late 1990s during the Kosovo war. A village station master in a Bucharest suburb blocks a train filled with military equipment and American marines for lack of legitimate customs papers. The scenario unfolds over the course of several days, as village locals mingle with the stranded troops. Pascale Ferran, awarding the film top prize for Cannes’ Un Certain Regard said “far and above, California Dreamin’ is the most lively and liberated film proposal we’ve seen in our entire ten days.” (Cristian Nemescu, 2007, 35 mm, Romanian with subtitles, 150 minutes)
Location: National Gallery of Art East Building Auditorium, 4th Street at Constitution Avenue NW.
Free access. Seating is on a first-come, first-seated basis. Doors open approximately 30 mins. before each show.
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BENEFIT CONCERT: Thursday, December 20, 7:00 pm
Special Recital “A Winter Song”with Georgeta Stoleriu, soprano (Romania) and Valentin Radu, piano (Philadelphia). A benefit concert to support the Project of Building The New Romanian Orthodox Church “Saint Andrew” in Potomac, Maryland, organized by The Holy Cross Romanian Orthodox Church in Alexandria, VA and hosted by the Embassy of Romania. A delightful program of masterpieces by Vivaldi, Bach, Handel, Chopin, Mozart and Romanian folk music presented by two internationally acclaimed Romanian artists.
Location: The Embassy of Romania (1607, 23rd St. NW, Washington D.C. 20008)
Meet the Artists Reception to follow the event
For more information, please contact the Holy Cross Romanian Orthodox Church: http://www.sfantacruce.org evenimente@sfantacruce.org
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FILM SCREENING: December 15 at 1:00 p.m.
The Great Communist Bank Robbery
A strange robbery at the Romanian National Bank in 1959 triggered a massive police search. When the alleged burglars were caught and arrested, they re-enacted their crime for a television film in which they played themselves. Although evidence suggests the criminals believed they would be spared the death sentence by appearing in the film, their reality was otherwise. (Alexandru Solomon, 2004, 70 minutes)
December 15 at 2:30 p.m.
California Dreamin’ (endless)
Lauded at this year’s Festival de Cannes, director Cristian Nemescu (tragically killed in a crash before the film’s final post-production) was inspired by an event that had occurred in the late 1990s during the Kosovo war. A village station master in a Bucharest suburb blocks a train filled with military equipment and American marines for lack of legitimate customs papers. The scenario unfolds over the course of several days, as village locals mingle with the stranded troops. Pascale Ferran, awarding the film top prize for Cannes’ Un Certain Regard said “far and above, California Dreamin’ is the most lively and liberated film proposal we’ve seen in our entire ten days.” (Cristian Nemescu, 2007, 35 mm, Romanian with subtitles, 150 minutes)
Location: National Gallery of Art East Building Auditorium, 4th Street at Constitution Avenue NW.
Free access. Seating is on a first-come, first-seated basis. Doors open approximately 30 mins. before each show.
***
FILM SCREENING: December 16 at 4:00 p.m.
The Way I Spent the End of the World
Set during the final months of Ceauşescu’s Communist dictatorship, The Way I Spent the End of the World portrays the daily lives of radiant young Eva, her brother, and her boyfriend as they grapple with coming-of-age issues. Eva’s woes, though largely a consequence of her personal and family relationships, are still shaped by the era in which she is living. Actress Dorotheea Petre’s luminous performance won the best actress award in the 2006 Un Certain Regard division of the Cannes Festival. (Catalin Mitulescu, 2006, 35 mm, 106 minutes)
Location: National Gallery of Art East Building Auditorium, 4th Street at Constitution Avenue NW.
Free access. Seating is on a first-come, first-seated basis. Doors open approximately 30 mins. before each show.
***
MUSIC RECITAL: December 12 at 7:00 p.m.
A Spectacular Christmas Gala Concert with motets and carols from Old Europe and Broadway Glitter from the “New World”. Renaissance Period Costumes, drums, bells and holiday favorites such as “White Christmas “ and “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”. An enchanting evening during this Holiday Season!
You cannot afford to miss it! Suggested donations for Vox Ama Deus $20.00 for general; $10.00 for students
Location: The Residence of Romanian Ambassador (2500, 30th St. NW, Washington D.C. 20008)
Meet the Artists Reception to follow the event
For more information, please contact the 202 332-4852 ext 151; or by email at iilie@roembus.org
R.S.V.P. 202 332-4852 ext 105 or by email at rsvp@roembus.org (acceptances only)
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FILM SCREENING: December 23 at 4:00 p.m.
The Reenactment
also Tertium non datur
Upon its completion in the late 1960s, The Reenactment was banned because, according to one critic, “It was dominated by a sense of the tragic . . . and nourished by a profound civil and cultural awareness.” Ripu and Vuica are students who celebrate one evening by drinking too much. They attack the bar owner and break a window. Days later a policeman, a judge, and a film crew take them to the crime scene—instead of spending time in jail, they will work as actors in a state-sponsored documentary about alcoholism. (Lucian Pintilie, 1968, 35 mm, Romanian with subtitles, 106 minutes)
Pintilie describes his new short film Tertium non datur as “a tragicomic parable about the integration of the poorest of the poor, tormented by complexes, into the fiction we provisionally call Europe.” (Lucian Pintilie, 2006, 35 mm, Romanian, German, and French with subtitles, 39 minutes)
Location: National Gallery of Art East Building Auditorium, 4th Street at Constitution Avenue NW.
Free access. Seating is on a first-come, first-seated basis. Doors open approximately 30 mins. before each show.
***
FILM SCREENING: December 29 at 2:30
Occident
preceded by short C Block Story
An early work by Cristian Mungiu (the recent Cannes Palme d’Or winner), Occident is a narrative triptych connected by overlapping settings and by the premise that many young Romanians are departing for the West (the Occident) searching for a better life. The characters are sensitive and sometimes capricious and, to the outsider, encompass a snapshot of daily life in Bucharest. “It’s unusual to come across a script so accomplished. Cristian’s strength clearly lies in his writing”—Neil Young. (Cristian Mungiu, 2002, 35 mm, Romanian with subtitles, 105 minutes)
Location: National Gallery of Art East Building Auditorium, 4th Street at Constitution Avenue NW.
Free access. Seating is on a first-come, first-seated basis. Doors open approximately 30 mins. before each show.
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FILM SCREENING: December 30 at 2:00
Film Series: Bucharest Stories: New Films from Romania organized by the National Gallery of Art in cooperation with the Romanian Cultural Institute, NY and with the support of the Embassy of Romania.
Short Films from Romania
Creativity in the recent Romanian new wave has not been limited to works of feature length. Displaying a flair for the shorter form, this program includes the following works: Cigarettes and Coffee (Cristi Puiu, 2004, 13 minutes); Traffic (Cătălin Mitulescu, 2004, 15 minutes); The Apartment (Constantin Popescu, 2004, 20 minutes; The Tube with a Hat (Radu Jude, 2006, 23 minutes); and Liviu’s Dream (Corneliu Porumboiu, 2004, 39 minutes). All films are 35 mm, Romanian with subtitles.
Location: National Gallery of Art East Building Auditorium, 4th Street at Constitution Avenue NW.
Free access. Seating is on a first-come, first-seated basis. Doors open approximately 30 mins. before each show.
***
FILM SCREENING: December 30 at 4:30
Film Series: Bucharest Stories: New Films from Romania organized by the National Gallery of Art in cooperation with the Romanian Cultural Institute, NY and with the support of the Embassy of Romania.
The Rest is Silence
In 1911 Bucharest was the “Paris of the East.” Grand receptions, lavish lifestyles, and luxuriant architecture were all central to the city’s existence. If theater was the preferred art form, the city’s nascent cinemas were still holding their own. In the midst of Bucharest’s theatrical life lives Grig, a would-be film director for the French-based Gaumont company. Grig manages to alienate his famous father, a celebrated Romanian stage actor who only has contempt for the new cinemas. The lavishly styled The Rest is Silence vividly recreates turn-of-the-century Bucharest and the turbulence of the early film industry. (Nae Caranfil, 2007, 35 mm, Romanian with subtitles, 140 minutes)
Location: National Gallery of Art East Building Auditorium, 4th Street at Constitution Avenue NW.
Free access. Seating is on a first-come, first-seated basis. Doors open approximately 30 mins. before each show.