Director and producer Tudor Giurgiu, one of the most influential men in Romanian cinema, zig-zags the United States to promote his latest feature film, "Freedom" („Libertate”), the brilliantly-executed and thought-provoking depiction of the chaotic weeks of Romania after the fall of the communist dictatorship. We are excited to support the series of special screenings in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Atlanta, followed by extended Q&As with the versatile helmer, in a quest to stir a wider conversation about Romania then and now and about the power of cinema to capture the essence of the past.
PROGRAM
LOS ANGELES, Saturday, May 4, 6:30 PM PDT, as part of the South East European Film Festival Los Angeles
SAN FRANCISCO, Thursday, May 9, 6:00 PM PDT, August Coppola Theatre at San Francisco University, in collaboration with Romanian Film Festival at Stanford
ATLANTA, Saturday, May 11, 11:00 AM, as part of the European Film Festival of Atlanta
NEW YORK, Monday, May 13, 6:30 PM, Tribeca Screening Room (375 Greenwich St.)
In New York, we join forces with The Alex Fund, the consequential NGO founded by Leslie Hawke (and counting Ethan Hawke among its trustees), working to provide quality early education to severely disadvantaged children, for an evening that complements the meeting with Tudor Giurgiu with an event in support of Alex Fund’s Romanian program. More about the NYC screening HERE.
UPDATE:
Very exciting news for TUDOR GIURGIU and the team: "Freedom" („Libertate”) was awarded the Barco HDR Master LightSteering Color Grade Prize, together with two other feature films, “Motherland” by Alexander Mihalkovich & Hanna Badziaka (Belarus/Sweden), and “Guardians of the Formula” by Dragan Bjelogrlić (Serbia/Slovenia/Montenegro/Macedonia/France).
BARCO is the global imaging company whose laser projectors are covering 60% of the world's cinema market. This prize means that „Libertate” will get the top-of-the-line treatment in the state of the art Hollywood studio.
ABOUT "FREEDOM" / „LIBERTATE”
In the chaotic days of the December 1989 revolution that overthrew the Communist regime, the Transylvanian city of Sibiu becomes the scene of a violent assault on a police unit that quickly escalates into a bloody confrontation between soldiers, policemen, civilian protesters and representatives of the secret police. In a desperate attempt to escape the siege, police captain Viorel is captured by the army and thrown into an empty swimming pool along with hundreds of prisoners accused of being terrorists.
"Tudor Giurgiu paints a realistic picture of the revolutionary chaos and turmoil, questions the established narratives and, most importantly, makes a thrilling film that grabs viewers’ attention, elicits an emotional response and leaves a lasting impression." - CineEuropa
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
TUDOR GIURGIU is director, producer, screenwriter, and cultural entrepreneur, member of the European Film Academy and founder and President of the Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF), the most prestigious event dedicated to film in Romania. His directorial debut feature “Love Sick” was selected in Panorama section of 2006 Berlinale and awarded in several international festivals. His short “Superman, Spiderman or Batman” (2011) won Best European Short at the 2012 edition of European Film Academy Awards. His feature, “Of Snails and Men”, was awarded in Warsaw International Film Festival and Valladolid International Film Festival. “Why Me?”, an unsettling legal thriller based on a real case of corruption in present-day Romania, premiered in 2015 Berlinale Panorama.