Last night we attended the screening of Aferim! and the opening party of the New Romanian Cinema season which continues at the prestigious BFI on Southbank until July.
The evening consisted of the screening of the award-winning film Aferim! A historical film made in 2015 by director Radu Jude. Following the projection we were joined by the lead actor Teodor Corban and scriptwriter Florin Lazarescu and director Radu Jude (via Skype!) for a fascinating Q&A.
Aferim! is a groundbreaking film and won Radu Jude a silver bear award for best director at the Berlinale. The film has been screened in over 60 major festivals. Jude, whose films are mostly set in the present day, branched out with this story and said he wanted to make a film about the Romanian history that is not taught in schools. He went on to say that it was important for him to make us think about what parts of our history we have left behind and which parts are still with us, positive and negative.
This is not a decorative piece of cinema, it is important and makes us think. Nor is it for the faint-hearted. There is a gruelling scene at the end which made the audience visibly squirm in our seats. However the overall aesthetic is beautifully composed, with the expert use of intense slow and long shots, pastoral landscapes and tonal black and whites this film is bound to go down as a classic in Romanian film history.
Afterwards we headed up to a private room for the opening party and enjoyed Recas wines and more conversation about excellence in cinema.
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