The Romanian Cultural Institute supports the screening of Corneliu Porumboiu's film 12:08 East of Bucharest at the New Europe Film Festival in Edinburgh. Where were you when the Romanian Communist regime collapsed? That is the question at the heart of Porumboiu's debut feature.
At 12:08 p.m. on December 22, 1989, every Romanian was glued to the television set to witness dictator Ceausescu abdicate power and flee in a helicopter as the presidential palace was swarmed by protestors. Sixteen years after the Revolution, on a small-town television station show, a hard-drinking history teacher and an elderly retiree who works as a part-time Santa Claus share stories of their heroic contributions to the town's own rebellion.
A deadpan comedy that evolves into a wry, politicized examination of truth, '12:08 East of Bucharest' reconfirms Romania's emergence as a budding cinematic Mecca. Nick Schager, Slant, 2007
The film was awarded the Caméra d'Or prize at Cannes 2006.
Corneliu Porumboiu was born in Vaslui (Romania) and studied directing at the University of Drama and Film 'I.L. Caragiale' in Bucharest. He has directed such short films as Graffiti (2000), Love... Sorry (2001), Gone with the Wine (2002), Liviu's Dream (2003) and the award-winning A Trip to the City (2004).
When: 31 March 2007, 8.30 pm
Where: Filmhouse, 88 Lothian Road, Edinburgh EH3 9BZ; Box office: 0181 228 2688.
