Romanian Film Festival
Program at SF State
Friday, April 21
7pm
Dogs
Directed and written by Bogdan Mirica
Q&A with Bogdan Mirica. Moderators: Professor Steven Kovacs and Florentina Mocanu.
Roman returns to the land he has just inherited from his grandfather. Fully decided to sell this vast but desolate property, he is warned by the local cop that his grandfather was a local godfather. Stars: Dragos Bucur, Gheorghe Visu, Vlad Ivanov. 1 hour, 44 minutes. Drama/thriller. In Romanian with English subtitles. Awards: FIPRESCI Prize (Un Certain Regard), 2016 Cannes Film Festival; Best Actor (Gheoghe Visu) and Special Jury Mention (Bogdan Mirica), 2016 Sarajevo Film Festival.
Saturday, April 22
2pm – 3:30pm
The Network
Directed by Claudiu Mitcu
In Romania, chemotherapy drugs are neither accessible free of charge, as required by law, nor can they be acquired in pharmacies. 1 hour, 2 minutes. Documentary/news. In Romanian with English subtitles.
3:30pm – 5 p.m.
The Forest
Directed by Sinisa Dragin
In 1947, Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito visited, for the first time, Romania. Its communist regime gave him, as present, a painting from a great Romanian artist Ion Andeescu: “The Leafless Forest.” In the ’60s, a young art critic, Radu Bogdan, decided to elaborate a monograph dedicated to the great painter, including reproduction of the painting given to Tito. After countless problems, he obtained the permission to photograph the painting. The moment they took the painting off the wall, they found — a microphone. 1 hour, 12 minutes. Documentary/history. In Romanian and Serbian with English subtitles.
6pm – 7:30pm
Two Lottery Tickets
Directed by Paul Negoescu
Three men from a provincial town are in urgent need of money and decide to buy a lottery ticket. They win the lottery, but soon after their ticket gets stolen. Writers: Ion Luca Caragiale (short story), Paul Negoescu. Stars: Mircea Banu, Dorian Boguta, Dragos Bucur. 1 hour, 26 minutes. Comedy. In Romanian with English subtitles. Awards: Best Comedy Feature, 2016 Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival; Jury Prize, Best Film, 2017 Monte-Carlo Comedy Film Festival.
7:45pm
Double
Directed by Catrinel Danaiata
Q&A with actress Maria Dinulescu. Moderators: Professor Steve Kovacs and Florentina Mocanu.
The drama follows a promising young architect as he tries to balance his personal life with the burdens of his career. Writers: Alexandra Axinte and Catrinel Dãnãiatã, Stars: Bogdan Dumitrache, Maria Dinulescu, Virgil Aioanei, Dorian Boguta, Radu Bânzaru. 1 hour, 40minutes. Drama. In Romanian with English subtitles.
The festival takes place at SF State, Stanford and University of California, Berkeley, with additional screenings University of California, Los Angeles and San Francisco Art Institute. For more information on non-SF State screenings, visit the Romanian Film Festival’s page on Facebook.
Photo: Still from Catrinel Danaiata’s Double with actress Maria Dinulescu