12:08 East of Bucharest and the New Romanian Cinema

In light of this week's release of Corneliu Porumboiu’s debut feature 12:08 East of Bucharest, Romanian cinema is continuing its surprising success of films that goes back to 2001. The truth is that, after Ceausescu, the collapse of communism inadvertently helped to change the situation of the country's cinema. Thereafter, financing often depended on a jury awarding state grants but the international success of filmmakers at the turn of the new millennium, disliked by the old juries, saw a new emergence in talent. Films of this new wave included: Sinisa Dragin’s Every Day God Kisses Us on the Mouth (2001); Cristi Puiu's low budget first feature film Stuff and Dough (Marfa si Banii, 2001); Occident (2002), a comedy drama directed by a then-unknown Cristian Mungiu and also Nae Caranfil’s satire Philanthropy (Filantropica, 2002). All of these films won awards at festivals.

More recently The Death of Mr. Lazerescu (2005) saw Cristi Puiu following his debut success for 2001’s Stuff and Dough with a multi-award-winning film. This year, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days has been a phenomenal success in film festivals for Cristian Mungiu. Read the recent emergence of Romanian cinema and the review of 12:08 East of Bucharest .