Join us for a screening of the documentary Chuck Norris vs. Communism (2015), as part of our Romanian Film Festival! Celebrate Romanian cinema and culture with a selection of films and documentaries at Ipswich County Library over the weekend.
Booking is required. All screenings will be free to attend, but donations to Ipswich Romanian Community and Suffolk Libraries are welcome. Please arrive on the Ground Floor of the library at 7PM for a drinks reception and talks with guest speakers.
About Chuck Norris vs Communism:
In communist Romania, thousands of Western films on bootleg VHS tapes — mostly Hollywood action movies — were smuggled behind the Iron Curtain, opening a window into the free world.
Under President Nicolae Ceaușescu, Romania was culturally isolated and ideologically censored. Images of life outside its borders were cut off and TV was reduced to propaganda bulletins. From the drab concrete housing blocks to the food ration lines, the threat of surveillance prevented people from stepping out of line.
But in the mid-1980s, under the nose of the Securitate, Ceaușescu’s secret police, thousands of Hollywood films were smuggled into the country by an underground operative named Zamfir, and they were all covertly dubbed by Irina Nistor, a courageous translator whose distinct voice captivated the nation and became a symbol of freedom.
As we see through evocative re-creations in Chuck Norris vs Communism, a network of secret screening rooms sprung up across Romania as families, friends, and neighbors gathered to watch action heroes like Norris, Van Damme, and Stallone, along with romantic comedies, dramas, and Hollywood epics. While the stories captured the imagination, it was the lavish settings and backdrops that mesmerized the audience.
Chuck Norris vs. Communism is rated 12+.
This event has been organised in collaboration with the Ipswich Romanian Community and has been generously funded by The Europe Challenge.
