Toronto

Pentru romanii din Toronto interesati sa le vizioneze, ca si pentru cei de acasa si de pretutindeni care ar vrea sa stie, iata lista filmelor romanesti ce vor fi prezentate la Toronto Romanian Film Festival May 20-22 :

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Friday May 20

7:00 PM / Bloor Cinema
If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle / Eu cand vreau sa fluier, fluier (Romania/Sweden, 2010)
Director: Florin Serban
Writer: Catalin Mitulescu, Florin Serban (based on the play “Eu cand vreau sa fluier, fluier“ by Andreea Valean)
Cast: George Pistereanu, Ada Condeescu, Clara Voda
Running time: 1hr 34min
Synopsis:
Silviu has only 5 days left before his release from the juvenile detention centre. But 5 days becomes an eternity when his mother returns from a long absence to take his younger brother away. A brother whom he raised like a son.

Awards:
Silver Bear and Alfred Bauer Award - Berlin International Film Festival, 2010
Best Actor - Stockholm Film Festival, 2010
Best Actor - Damascus International Film Festival, 2010

Saturday May 21

2:30 - Arts & Entertainment / Innis Town Hall
Merry Circus / Circul Vesel (Romania, 2009)
Director: Claudiu Mitcu
Writer: Aura Sorescu
Cast: Mina Zdebschi, Carol Zdebschi, Rica Sorescu, Dumitru Sorescu
Running time: 51min.
Synopsis:
It is the story of a family whose roots in the traditional Romanian strolling circus Globus begin back in the 1920s, when Toma Zdebschi traveled to Romania with the Globus Circus from Czechoslovakia and never went back. His son Carol is now 84, and together with his wife Mina, 75, they recall with nostalgia a life of great satisfaction, but also of sacrifices. Their passionate vocation is symbolized by the circus wagon, which will remain in the backyard of their home for as long as they live.

The Shukar Collective Project (Romania, 2010)
Director: Matei-Alexandru Mocanu
Writer: Matei-Alexandru Mocanu
Cast: Cristian Busuioc, Dan Handrabur, Petrica Panciu
Running time: 1hr 15min

Synopsis:
'The Shukar Collective Project' is a music documentary that chronicles the ups and downs, the struggles and successes in the life of Shukar Collective, a Romanian music project that fuses ursari (gypsy music) with electr

3:00 PM - From the Archives / Innis Town Hall
doc.ro
This curated program aims to revive the interest in the history of pre-’89 documentary films. The chronological selection is a subjective one, given that productions prior to the 1950s - the year Sahia Film Studios was launched - are reviewed today for their aesthetic qualities (in spite of their ethnografic dimensions) of popularizing scientific discoveries or simply as propaganda pieces.
Together, these films concentrate on a social dialogue: the preoccupation with the collective surrenders and annihilates the individual; collective effort and manual work for the amelioration of life are excessively overvalued; offerings are abusively confiscated. As a result, the critical function of the documentary film is thus implied.

Oana Tanase is an art critic and curator at the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Bucharest, where she has recently organized solo exhibitions by Romanian artists, such as Gili Mocanu, Stefan Constantinescu, Roman Tolici, and Aurelia Mihai. As a freelancer, she has been involved in projects that approach the contemporary photography and video art, such as Bucharest – a paradox city (The City Museum, Madrid, 2011), Ne tourne pas la tete (ICR Paris, 2010), Ateliers des images (French Cultural Institute, Bucharest, 2009 - 2010), Temps d’ ecoles d’ images (UNAgaleria, Bucharest, 2008; Turnul Croitorilor, Cluj, 2009 and 2010) and the 2008 edition of SurExpoxition Timisoara (Museum of Art, Timisoara). She has been contributing editor for various cultural publications in Romania. She is currently enrolled in a PhD program at the University of Arts in Bucharest with a thesis concerning the documentary practices in contemporary art.

The Factory / Uzina (Romania, 1963)
Director: Slavomir Popovici
Running time: 18min

Synopsis:
A film-essay on manufacturing and production. Against the background festivities of “Workers’ Day”, the profile of the ‘1 May’ factory from Ploiesti - an oil refinery - is correlated with changes in social and domestic life.

Reed / Stuf (Romania, 1966)
Director: Titus Mesaros
Running time: 12min

Synopsis:
A silent, black-and-white cinematic poem of the Danube Delta and the exploitation of its wetlands. Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana accompanies scenes of a winter idyll.

Black Buffalo Water / Apa ca un bivol negru (Romania, 1970)
Directors: Youssouff Aidaby, Andrei Catalin Baleanu, Pierre Bokor , Iosif Demian, Stere Gulea, Roxana Pana, Dan Pita, Dinu Tanase, Mircea Veroiu
Running time: 59min

Synopsis:
A collaborative project of young graduates from IATC (Institute of Theatrical and Cinematic Arts), responding to the devastating floods of May, 1970. Received with suspicion by the party censors, the film was modified to accentuate the rescue and rebuilding efforts, introducing specific scenes throughout the montage.

Bench Mark Zero / Cota zero (Romania, 1988)
Director: Laurentiu Damian
Running time: 13min

Synopsis:
Banned by the censors and seen only after 1989, the documentary confronts the spectator with a tired, isolated humanity, broken down by ambition and obligations.

There Will Come a Day / Va veni o zi (Romania, 1985)
Director: Copel Moscu
Running time: 12min

Synopsis:
The film’s overriding structure exposes the analogical relationship between the rearing and education of children (i.e. the famous Nation’s Falcons) and the organization of the work-force in a poultry-factory. Censored in 1985, and screened publicly seven years later in 1992, it is a commentary on how a society’s destiny is drafted according to a utopian framework.

*Q&A session with director Laurentiu Damian to follow screening.
6:00 PM / Innis Town Hall
Medal of Honor / Medalia de onoare (Germany/Romania, 2010)
Director: Calin Peter Netzer
Writer: Tudor Voican
Cast: Victor Rebengiuc, Camelia Zorlescu, Mircea Andreescu, Radu Beligan
Running time: 1hr 40min

Synopsis:
Aging war veteran Ion I. Ion is content to live out his days in peace with his uncommunicative wife in his unheated apartment, when word surprisingly arrives that he has been awarded a commemorative medal for his service in World War II. Ion is shocked and honored, but the only problem is he can't seem to remember what brave wartime act the award could possibly be for! Ironies mount in Peter Netzer's dryly humorous tale as Ion navigates both Romanian bureaucracy and his own hazy memories in search for some ounce of meaning in either.

Awards:
- Best Actor, Best Screenplay, FIPRESCI Prize, Silver Alexander Award - Thessaloniki International Film Festival, 2009
- Audience Award, Holden Award for the Best Script - Torino International Festival of Young Cinema, 2009
- Best Director, Best Actor - Transylvania International Film Festival, 2010

9:00 PM / Bloor Cinema
Tuesday, After Christmas / Marti, dupa Craciun (Romania, 2010)
Director: Radu Muntean
Writer: Razvan Radulescu, Alex Baciu, Radu Muntean
Cast: Mirela Oprisor, Mimi Branescu, Maria Popistasu
Running time: 1hr 39min

Synopsis:
Paul has been married to Adriana for 10 years. They have a daughter, a car, an apartment and they still seem to be in love.
Paul also has an affair with Raluca, a 27- year- old dentist he met 6 months ago.Paul loves two women but when they meet by chance, he has to make a decision.

Awards:
- Best Actress (Maria Popistasu & Mirela Oprisor) - Mar del Plata Film Festival, 2010
- Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress (Maria Popistasu & Mirela Oprisor) - Gijón Film Festival, 2010
- Nominated for Un Certain Regard - Cannes International Film Festival, 2010

*Q&A session with actress Maria Popistasu and screenwriter Alex Baciu to follow screening.

Sunday, May 22

1:30 PM / Innis Town Hall
Shorts Program
Lord (Romania, 2009)
Director: Adrian Sitaru
Writer: Adrian Sitaru
Cast: Sergiu Costache, Andreea Samson
Running time: 20min

Synopsis:
Although he hates dogs, Toni is engaged in finding lost animals and then sentimentally blackmails the masters in order to obtain beautiful large amounts of money. Because of an old and ugly Pekinese that Toni cannot succeed of getting rid of, feelings of affection awake in him that surprize even Toni.

Awards:
- Silver Bear and Alfred Bauer Award - Berlin International Film Festival, 2010
- Best Actor - Stockholm Film Festival, 2010
- Best Actor - Damascus International Film Festival, 2010

The Palm Lines / Palmele (Romania, 2009)
Director: George Chiper
Writer: Mihai Mincan
Cast: Coca Bloos
Running time: 17min

Synopsis:
A terrible accident takes away her family in a blink of an eye. Years later, exposed to the video cameras, she tries to remember the events that would change her life to a senseless routine. The story of a day, like any other, from the life of a lonesome woman, spent within questions with no answers.

Awards:
- 2009 Official selection Leopards of Tomorrow, Locarno International Film Festival
- 2009 GOPO awards nominated for best short

Nea Victor (Romania, 2010)
Director: Hadrian Marcu
Writer: Hadrian Marcu
Cast: Ilie Gheorghe
Running time: 18min

Synopsis:
Mr. Ilie, a pensioner living alone, is on his way to the daily meeting with his friend Mr. Victor. Mr. Victor is late, which can mean that something is wrong with him or that he simply did not come. As the time passes, Mr. Ilie becomes worried about the absence of his friend. For him, breaking this routine can mean only one thing. Mr. Ilie is quite sure that the reason for the absence is a sad one. Once home, he calls Mr. Victor but gets no answer. His worries only grow...

The Cage / Colivia (Romania/Netherlands, 2010)
Director: Adrian Sitaru
Writer: Adrian Sitaru
Cast: Adrian Titieni, Clara Voda & Vlad Voda
Running time: 17min

Synopsis:
A family’s everyday life becomes tormented when their son brings home an injured pigeon. The father dislikes the disease-carrying bird, but the son is firm in his determination to keep his new-found animal friend safe on the balcony of their flat. The mother finds herself in her usual role: mediating family conflict.

Awards:
- Golden Berlin Bear for Best Short Film - Berlin International Film Festival, 2010

3:15 PM / Innis Town Hall
Kapitalism: Our Improved Formula / Kapitalism: Reteta noatra imbunatatita (Romania/France/Belgium, 2010)
Director: Alexandru Solomon
Writer: Alexandru Solomon
Cast: George Becali, George Copos, Dinu Patriciu, Dan Voiculescu
Running time: 1hr 20min

Synopsis:
If the dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu were to return to his native Romania 20 years after his execution, he would be a happy man. The country is in the hands of his former close associates and it is rife with corruption and protectionism, just like it was under communism. With his own brand of hyperbole, director Alexandru Solomon's film takes a look at Romanian capitalism, which has been led since the beginning of the 1990s by a group of prominent individuals with links to the old regime's security forces. It not only offers viewers an exclusive glimpse of the luxury homes, yachts and factories of Romanian magnates, but also reveals their thoughts. "You won't be successful unless you steal," is how Dinu Patriciu describes his recipe for entrepreneurial success. Solomon’s documentary artfully blends profiles of Romanian oligarchs and footage of huge factories, alternated with images of communist assembly-line production and humorous animated inserts.

5:00 PM / Innis Town Hall
Morgen (Romania/France/Hungary, 2010)
Director: Marian Crisan
Writer: Marian Crisan
Cast: András Hatházi, Yilmaz Yalcin, Elvira Rîmbu
Running time: 1hr 46min

Synopsis:
Nelu works as a supermarket security guard in a small village on the Romanian-Hungarian border. One day at the river, Nelu fishes a Turkish man out of the water who is hoping to reach Germany. The two men are unable to communicate with words, but Nelu provides the illegal emigrant with clothes, food, shelter and a far-fetched promise to help him accomplish his journey.

Awards:
- Best Director and Best Actor - Thessaloniki International Film Festival, 2010
- Special Jury Prize, Ecumenical Jury Award, FICC/IFFS Award - Locarno Film Festival, 2010

8:00 PM / Bloor Cinema
Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu / Autobiografia lui Nicolae Ceausescu (Romania/Germany, 2010)
Director: Andrei Ujica
Writer: Andrei Ujica
Running time: 3hrs.

Synopsis:
“After all, a dictator is simply an artist who is able to fully put into practice his egotism. It is a mere question of aesthetic level, whether he turns out to be Baudelaire or Bolintineanu, Louis XVI or Nicolae Ceausescu.” Andrei Ujica

During the summary trial that he and his wife were submitted to, Nicolae Ceausescu is reviewing his long reign in power: 1965-1989. It is an historical tableau that in its scope resembles American film frescos such as those dedicated to the Vietnam War.

Awards:
- Best European Documentary - Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival, 2010
- Great Prize (documentary section) - Bergen International Film Festival, 2010

Opening Party
We are happy to announce the venue for the opening night party. It will be taking place at Southern Accent, “situated in a Victorian town house in Toronto’s Mirvish Village (near Bloor and Bathurst) with cozy corners, private rooms and a 1940’s bar.”

Join us for an intimate night of chats with old friends, jazz, drinks and food following “If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle,” this year’s opening screening!

Southern Accent is located at 595 Markham Street, M6G 2L7, on Friday, May 20, after the screening.

Tickets
For tickets visit http://toroartsgroup.ticketbud.com/toroff4, but please be advised that advance tickets will go OFF SALE on Thursday, May 19th at midnight.
Tickets will be subsequently available at the door before each screening.
For more information about the festival, head on to www.torofilmfestival.com