Set in the medieval part of Sibiu, this documentary of intertwined tales discreetly discovers the intimate stories of the simple customers of a ‘bar de zi’ (day bar) -- the last State-owned bar to survive the communist regime. Started as an experiment of what would happen if we look more closely at the people we come across in our everyday life, the film reveals unexpected, strange, and sometimes tragic life stories. Ordinary people prove to be strong, true and profoundly human characters. The modest entrance into a day bar becomes, in fact, a doorway to an intense, passionate and delightful world; and a deep reflection on human nature and destiny. - ICR, New York
Director: Corina Radu
Original title: Bar de zi şi alte povestiri
Romania, 2007, 57 minutes
Accompanying this film on Link TV is the Romanian New Wave short film "Marilena from P7":
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Marilena from P7
Andrei, a 13-year-old teenager, living on the outskirts of Bucharest, decides one day to steal a trolleybus in order to impress Marilena, a prostitute he fell in love with. Things you do for love… |
LEARN MORE:
Romanian Cultural Institute of New York
The New York Times coverage of the Romanian New Wave
This film is part of the series The Romanian New Wave, a special Cinemondo presentation brought to you by Link TV in association with the Romanian Cultural Institute, New York.
Starting in 2001, Romanian cinema surprised the world with a group of new filmmakers in their late thirties. Their movies - intense, dark humored and down to earth - were consistent with a radical belief that film in Romania could break through artistically. Responding to the hectic and sometimes chaotic post-Communist landscape, they took simple life stories and urban fables, and turned them into globally affecting films.
Broadly acclaimed by the international film press, and stubbornly productive despite a lack of resources, these young directors were regarded at first with disdain by Romanian critics. Yet slowly but surely they gained legitimacy, winning awards at Cannes and other major film festivals, and in the process putting Romanian cinema on the world map.
The films in this special series all come from this “new wave” of Romanian filmmakers. Few of them have had any theatrical exposure in the U.S., and through Cinemondo will reach a nationwide TV audience for the first time. Among the many highlights are Cristi Puiu’s Stuff and Dough, Porumboiu’s 12:08 East of Bucharest, Muntean’s The Paper Will Be Blue, and Nemescu’s Marilena From P7. Because documentary filmmaking has flourished alongside fictional films in Romania, three outstanding works are included in the series: Bar de Zi, Cold Waves and Testimony.
The Romanian New Wave series is a joint project of Link TV and the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York, which arranged for these gems of world cinema to appear on Cinemondo and reach millions of American homes. Enjoy!
Corina Suteu, Director, Romanian Cultural Institute in New York
Steven Lawrence, Vice President, Music & Cultural Programming, Link TV
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