Romanian filmmaker Radu Jude’s Aferim, praised in the United States

“Radu Judes sublime new feature, “Aferim! is a funny and brutal costume drama with a potent contemporary kick writes the New York Times

România Internațional, 20.02.2016, 14:02

“Radu Jude’s sublime new feature, “Aferim!” is a funny and brutal costume drama with a potent contemporary kick” writes the New York Times after the premiere of the Romanian production in the United States. The New York Times also deplores the fact that the movie was omitted from the final list of five nominees in the best foreign language film category.

“Aferim!” is a historical movie whose action is set in Wallachia in the early 19th century. A lawman enacted by actor Teodor Corban accompanied by his deputy, who is also his son, whose part is played by Mihai Comanoiu, look for a fugitive serf, whose part is played by Toma Cuzin. The most important Romanian production since 2010 (that is the year of Andrei Ujica’s “Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu” and Cristi Puiu’s “Aurora”) is entitled Aferim! and brings filmmaker Radu Jude (born in 1977 and having made his third feature film) very close to the lead position of today’s generation of foremost Romanian filmmakers.

This wok of art, soon to become a classic in the Romanian filmmaking industry is also high on the agenda of today’s public debates, wrote film critic Andrei Gorzo. The review carried by the New York Times eulogizes “Aferim!”, “being shot in richly toned, wide-screen black and white and looking like an elegant exercise in period playacting. “The film casts a fierce, revisionist eye on the past, finding the cruelty and prejudice that lie beneath the pageantry.” the same review also writes. The author of the review describes actor Teodor Corban’s performance as an “exuberant soulful one.” “He has some of Anthony Quinn’s rough charisma, and a touch of the loose, wised-up humor that John Wayne brought to his later westerns”, the paper aso writes.

“Aferim!” has been on in movie theatres in the US since January 22nd, 2016, being distributed by Big World Pictures. Before its opening, Radu Jude’s feature film had already been screened as part of a a series of special events in Los Angels and New York, with producer Ada Solomon and actor Toma Cuzin attending. Those special screenings were held under the sponsorship of the Romanian Cultural Institute and the National Cinematography Center. Here is the producer of Aferim! Ada Solomon.

“The tour of Los Angeles and New York was tiring, but at the same time very exciting and pleasant because the film sparked many reactions and was received in a way I had not expected. I didn’t think it would be received with such empathy by an audience from such a completely different culture. All the more so as the film was born out of the local complexities and its theme resonated strongly with the Romanian audiences. We were therefore amazed and happy with its response in the Anglo-Saxon world. In Los Angeles, at the American Film Institute Festival, a prestigious and popular event, the film was screened to a packed house. It was a pleasure to meet the audience. Many, of course, were ethnic Romanians living in the US, but the most interesting questions came from the American audience. We talked about xenophobia and slavery, about the trauma of slavery and its repercussions today, which is something Romanian society is little aware of. I’m not speaking only about the Roma community, but I believe the entire Romanian society should be more strongly connected to those events. In New York, my film was screened at the Making Waves Festival dedicated to Romanian cinema and organised by the Film Society of Lincoln Centre. The film again enjoyed an extraordinary reception.”

Producer Ada Solomon spoke about some of the most interesting questions asked by American film lovers:

“Their questions were mostly about slavery and how the Roma population today approaches this episode in Romania’s history. We, Romanians, don’t know our own history very well, and Romanian history is not very well known in America. Few people in the audience knew about the historical context of the film and the fact that slavery existed for hundreds of years in Romania. So, many questions were about this fact. The American audience was also interested in the xenophobic and nationalist discourse that was apparent in the film. Other questions were about how prejudice is passed over from one generation to the next, which is one of the key elements of the film.”

Radu Jude’s “Aferim!”, which won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlin Film Festival last year, was launched in movie theatres across the US on February 5th. One of the biggest cinematographic projects to come out of Romania in recent years, the film also won the “City of Lisbon” trophy and the Distribution Award at the IndieLisboa Film Festival; the Golden Bayard for Best Picture at the Namur Film Festival, in Belgium; the Audience Award at the Let’s CEE Film Festival in Vienna; and the FIPRESCI Award at the Miskolc Film Festival in Hungary.