Two Romanian films selected at the Göteborg Film Festival

Two Romanian films, “Metronom” by Alexandru Belc and “R.M.N.” by Cristian Mungiu, have been selected for the 46th edition of the Göteborg International Film Festival.

The most important event of this kind in Scandinavia, the film festival is scheduled to take place between January 27 and February 5, 2023. It screens roughly 400 productions from around the world every year, and about 160,000 spectators attend the screenings. Approximately 1,900 filmmakers, journalists, and industry delegates attend the festival as well.

Romania’s cultural institute in Sweden, ICR Stockholm, has backed the participation of director Alexandru Belc and editor Patricia Chelaru at the festival. The two have been invited to participate in discussions with the Swedish public and press, according to G4Media.

“Metronom,” Belc’s debut film, tells the story of a love affair between two young people in communist Romania in 1972. Ana and Sorin, the protagonists of this film, are forced to end their relationship when Sorin tells Ana that he is going to flee with his family to Germany. They meet after the break-up at a party of a colleague, Roxana.

At the party, all the young people listen to the "Metronom" show, by DJ Cornel Chiriac, broadcast on Radio Free Europe, a radio station that was banned at the time in Romania. The young people write a letter to the DJ expressing their desire to leave the country due to the communist rule. The communist police, the militia, are notified and arrests follow. The youngsters are then forced to describe in detail their participation in an event seen as a protest against the regime.

The story in “R.M.N.” begins around Christmas. Matthias, a 30-year-old man, returns to his native Transylvanian village after working in Germany. He is concerned about the fact that his child, Rudi, is growing up without him. He’s also preoccupied with Csilla, the woman he secretly loves, and Otto, his father who is also alone. Matthias tries to become more involved in the education of his child, but when some new workers are hired at Csilla’s factory, the small village community is turned upside down and conflicts follow.

(Photo source: Metronom on Facebook)