Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema 2019

The JBFC is proud to join Film ETC Association in copresenting the 14th edition of Making Waves, the longstanding Romanian Film Festival in New York. Produced and curated by Corina Șuteu, Mihai Chirilov, and Oana Radu, the core team that initiated and has organized the festival since 2006, it is presented by Film ETC Association in partnership with leading New York film organizations. This survey has “helped define and establish the southeastern European country as a stronghold of socially incisive, independently minded personal cinema.” (Wall Street Journal)

The most talked-about Romanian film of 2019 sets the mood for this year’s Making Waves. Screened at Cannes and New York Film Festival, The Whistlers (Corneliu Porumboiu) is a genre movie with a twist, a luscious and playful neo-noir that finds Romanian cinema at its most entertaining. Further forays into the genre film territory include two exciting love stories and a gripping social thriller: Tudor Giurgiu’s Parking charts the sparkling affair between two people who want a new beginning, whereas the couple in Marius Olteanu’s debut, Monsters., is at a crossroads in their personal life; on the other hand, Mo (Radu Dragomir) is truly a #MeToo manifesto and possibly the most provocative Romanian film recently made. An absolute novelty is Anca Damian’s bittersweet animation Marona’s Fantastic Tale. Fans of Making Waves know very well, though, that Romanian cinema wouldn’t be complete without exploring stories from the country’s past: Stere Gulea’s Moromete Family: On the Edge of Time reminds us of the very moment when Communism started its reign of terror, while Andrei Cohn takes a walk on the wild side with Arrest, a tense and claustrophobic chamber piece about the unseen face of the dictatorship.

Lead support for Making Waves is provided by the Trust for Mutual Understanding, Romanian Filmmakers Union, Dacin Sara, the Romanian National Film Center, Blue Heron Foundation, and the JBFC Program Fund.