Ipswich County Library is launching a free Romanian Film Festival. The very first Ipswich Romanian Film Festival will be screening a selection of feature films and documentaries in the library in mid-September.
The film festival is part of the library’s new outreach project for the local Romanian community supported by The Europe Challenge which is funding a range of new initiatives and activities, working with libraries across Europe.
Ipswich has around 3,300 Romanian speakers and this growing community was identified as a group who could benefit from greater engagement with the library so they could make the most of the many services on offer.
The free film festival will run on the weekend of 13-15 September and will involve film screenings in the library. The aim is to provide something which everyone in the local community can enjoy which celebrates and shares the films and culture of Romania.
The festival opens with a special launch event on Friday 13 September at 7pm with guest speakers from the Ipswich Romanian Community. The event offers a chance to find out more about the project and the featured films and documentaries. There will also be traditional Romanian food and drink to try.
Hannah Blackmore is Assistant Library Manager at Ipswich County Library and has been leading on the Romanian Project at the library. She says:
“The idea for the festival came from a survey about what multilingual library users would like to see more of in the library. I thought it was a brilliant suggestion, and it eventually led to our wider outreach project to the Romanian community, which aims to bring more people into the library, improve wellbeing and access to our services, and build community.
“I can't wait to immerse myself in these three gems of Romanian cinema - they're all quite different, but they've been selected by the local community because they each tell us something important about Romanian history and culture. We've had a great response already, and we're looking forward to welcoming everyone to the event, which is the first Romanian film festival to be held in the UK outside of London.”
The programme for the festival includes:
Friday 13 September at 8.15PM - Chuck Norris vs. Communism (2015)
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.
Saturday 14 September at 5.30PM – Two Lottery Tickets (2018)
Three ‘ne’er-do-wells’ from a provincial town hit the jackpot when they win the six-million Euro lottery prize only to find out that the winning ticket is, well, nowhere to be found. This is the beginning of a zany adventure as the trio sets off on a madcap hunt in search of the two wannabe gangsters who stole the bum bag containing the lucky scrap of paper. Paranoid potheads, would-be singers, gullible children, enterprising clairvoyants, and even a colourblind policeman cross their paths, generating one hilarious set piece after another. With little resources and great craftsmanship, director Paul Negoescu has put together a refreshingly charming indie comedy, not without a serious undertow as it effortlessly explores issues such as corruption, poverty, and chance. (Taken from Making Waves - New Romanian Cinema).
Sunday 15 September at 4.30PM – The Oak (1992)
Apocalypse is now in this edgy, extravagant and savagely funny depiction of Romania in the last stages of Ceauşescu’s monstrous Communist dictatorship. The beautiful and recklessly defiant Nela, whose secret police father has just died, sets off into the desolate countryside with the father’s ashes in a coffee jar. When she arrives at a run-down, overcrowded hospital, Nela embarks on a makeshift love affair with a brilliant, rude and irreverent doctor.
These events are free to attend but advanced booking is required. You can find out more and book your ticket on the Suffolk Libraries website.
