Netflix premiers ‘The New Year That Never Came’ this month, marking 35 years since Romania’s 1989 Revolution

Bogdan Mureșanu’s highly acclaimed debut feature Anul Nou Care N-a Fost/The New Year That Never Came will be available to Netflix subscribers in Romania and the Republic of Moldova starting December 22, marking the 35th anniversary of the 1989 Revolution.

The film, which has garnered praise at international film festivals and has been celebrated in local cinemas, was nominated for the European Film Awards in the European Discovery 2024 – Prix FIPRESCI category.

With over 14 prestigious awards won so far, including Best Film at the Venice International Film Festival’s Orizzonti section, the FIPRESCI Award, and the Bisato d’Oro Award for Best Screenplay, The New Year That Never Came explores the turbulent final days of Romania’s communist regime. Set against the backdrop of December 21, 1989, the film follows a series of interconnected stories that reflect the absurdities of daily life in an oppressive society.

The film “takes us back 35 years ago, at a time when Romania is boiling, yet no one talks about it. Interconnected stories unfold in a single day, through characters who are searching for normality, safety, love, freedom and meaning in an absurd world fueled by fear,” reads the press release.

“It is December 21, 1989. Life seems to continue as usual, with censored theater plays, demolished houses, workers gathered for a large demonstration, artistic moments presented by students mocking communism, all alongside TV programs preparing for New Year’s Eve to glorify Ceaușescu. In the discomfort of their unheated homes, people still struggle with age-old problems: differences of opinion between father and son, nostalgia for a former lover, or hatred for the mother-in-law. But above all, the all-knowing eye of the “Securitate” watches vigilantly. Six characters and their seemingly parallel life stories meet at certain invisible points in this tragicomedy, and with the explosion of a firecracker, all lead to a common resolution: the end of a world, the fall of the communist regime in Romania.”

The film features a stellar cast, including Adrian Văncică, Iulian Postelnicu, Emilia Dobrin, Nicoleta Hâncu, and Mihai Călin, among others. Cinematography is handled by Boróka Biró and Tudor Platon, while editing was managed by Vanja Kovacevic and Mircea Lăcătuș.

The film, written and directed by Bogdan Mureșanu, distributed by Forum Film in Romanian cinemas, and represented internationally by the company Cercamon, will also be screened in cinemas in the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, and Greece. Audiences in the Netherlands will have the chance to watch it in December.

Netflix is one of the global leaders in online streaming entertainment services, with 283 million subscribers in over 190 countries.