Romanian New Wave
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The Romanian New Wave (Romanian: Noul val românesc) is a genre of realist and often minimalist films made in Romania since the mid-2000s, starting with two award-winning shorts by two Romanian directors, namely Cristi Puiu's Cigarettes and Coffee, which won the Short Film Golden Bear at the 2004 Berlin International Film Festival, and Cătălin Mitulescu's Trafic, which won the Short Film Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival later that same year.
Themes
Aesthetically, Romanian New Wave films share an austere, realist and often minimalist approach. Furthermore, black humour tends to feature prominently. While several of them are set in the late 1980s, near the end of Nicolae Ceaușescu's totalitarian rule over communist Romania, exploring themes of freedom and resilience (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, The Paper Will Be Blue, The Way I Spent the End of the World, Tales from the Golden Age), others, however (The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, California Dreamin', Tuesday, After Christmas), unfold in modern-day Romania, and delve into the ways the transition to democracy and free-market capitalism has shaped Romanian society after the fall of communism in late 1989.
Award-winning films and directors
Romanian New Wave films and directors have won a significant number of important international movie awards at prestigious FIAPF-accredited film festivals. Below are a few notable examples:
Legend:
| Best feature film | |
| Best short film or second-best feature film | |
| Best film director |
Other notable works
| Director | Title | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cristi Puiu | Stuff and Dough Marfa și banii | 2001 | Cristi Puiu's directorial debut |
| Nae Caranfil | Philanthropy Filantropica | 2002 | |
| Cristian Mungiu | Occident | 2002 | Cristian Mungiu's first feature film |
| Lucian Pintilie | Niki and Flo Niki Ardelean, colonel în rezervă | 2003 | Lucian Pintilie's last feature film |
| Corneliu Porumboiu | Liviu's Dream Visul lui Liviu | 2004 | |
| Tudor Giurgiu | Love Sick Legături bolnăvicioase | 2006 | Compared to My Summer of Love |
| Cristian Nemescu | Marilena from P7 Marilena de la P7 | 2006 | Cristian Nemescu's last short film |
| Radu Muntean | The Paper Will Be Blue Hârtia va fi albastră | 2006 | |
| Gheorghe Preda | An Angel Hooked on Me Îngerul necesar | 2007 | Thematically unrelated to the others. Unconcerned with social issues. |
| Radu Muntean | Boogie | 2008 | |
| Cristian Mungiu et al. | Tales from the Golden Age Amintiri din Epoca de Aur | 2009 | |
| Răzvan Rădulescu et al. | First of All, Felicia Felicia, înainte de toate | 2009 | |
| Bobby Păunescu | Francesca | 2009 | |
| Andrei Gruzsniczki | The Other Irene Cealaltă Irina | 2009 | |
| Călin Peter Netzer | Medal of Honor Medalia de onoare | 2009 | |
| Constantin Popescu | Portrait of the Fighter as a Young Man Portretul luptătorului la tinerețe | 2010 | |
| Cătălin Mitulescu | Loverboy | 2011 | |
| Radu Jude | Everybody in Our Family Toată lumea din familia noastră | 2012 | |
| Tudor Giurgiu | Of Snails and Men Despre oameni și melci | 2012 | |
| Corneliu Porumboiu | When Evening Falls on Bucharest or Metabolism Când se lasă seara peste București sau metabolism | 2013 | |
| Nae Caranfil | Closer to the Moon Mai aproape de lună | 2014 | |
| Ana Lungu | Self-Portrait of a Dutiful Daughter Autoportretul unei fete cuminți | 2015 | |
| Radu Muntean | One Floor Below Un etaj mai jos | 2015 | |
| Tudor Giurgiu | Why Me? De ce eu? | 2015 | |
| Corneliu Porumboiu | The Whistlers La Gomera | 2019 | |
| Alexander Nanau | Collective Colectiv | 2019 | First Romanian film to be nominated for an Academy Award |
Further reading
- , by Andrei Gorzo for the British Film Institute, June 6, 2016.
- , by Steven Zeitchik for Los Angeles Times, May 25, 2016.
- , by Andrew Ricci for Taste of Cinema, October 11, 2014.
- , by Larry Rohter for The New York Times, December 18, 2013.
- , in Bonjour Tristesse, November 1, 2010.
- , by Steven Zeitchik for Los Angeles Times, May 13, 2010.
- , by Ronald Bergman for The Guardian, March 26, 2008.
- , by Marina Kaceanov for A Danish Journal of Film Studies No. 25, March 25, 2008.
- , by Ion Martea for Culture Wars, March 18, 2008.
- , by A.O. Scott for The New York Times, January 20, 2008.
- , in British Film Institute's Sight & Sound October 2007 issue.
- , by Vera Mijojlic for Cinema Without Borders, June 18, 2007.