TIPOGRAFIC MAJUSCUL

Romania

Synopsis

UPPERCASE PRINT links two stories, two histories. One is the true story of teenager Mugur Călinescu, who in 1981 chalked protest messages against the Ceaușescu regime on walls. His story is presented as it appears in the voluminous file kept by the Secret Police, which observed, apprehended, interrogated, and in the end destroyed him. The other is the official story of Romania at the time, in National Television archive footage. The juxtaposition of the two – secret vs. public, personal vs. collective, small-scale heroism vs. general submissiveness – showcases repression as only cinema can.

Director's Statement

Apart from the story and its significance, this film is trying to show an image of our recent history using archive materials: a Securitate (secret police) file of a brave teenager from 1981 combined with footage from the National Television archive. The montage of this film is, obviously, indebted to S.M. Eisenstein: "Any two images, when juxtaposed, inevitably combine into another concept which arises from the juxtaposition as something qualitatively new".

Director's Biography

Radu Jude is a Romanian director and screenwriter. He studied Filmmaking in Bucharest and started his career as an assistant director. In 2006, he made the short film THE TUBE WITH A HAT, winner of more than 50 international awards. Jude's feature debut THE HAPPIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD (2009) was selected for more than 50 international film festivals. Titles such as AFERIM!, SCARRED HEARTS and EVERYBODY IN OUR FAMILY followed and won multiple awards: Silver Bear for Best Director in Berlinale 2015, Special Jury Prize in Locarno 2016 and an EFA nomination for Best Scriptwriter. The international premiere of THE DEAD NATION in Locarno 2017 marked his debut in documentary film. His latest feature I DO NOT CARE IF WE GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS BARBARIANS (2018) won the Crystal Globe for Best Film and Label Europa Cinema Prize in Karlovy Vary in 2018.

FILMOGRAPHY:
2018 THE MARSHAL’S TWO EXECUTIONS, short
2018 DO NOT CARE IF WE GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS BARBARIANS
2017 THE DEAD NATION, doc.
2016 SCARRED HEARTS
2015 AFERIM!
2014 IT CAN PASS THROUGH THE WALL, short
2013 SHADOW OF A CLOUD
2012 EVERYBODY IN OUR FAMILY
2011 A FILM FOR FRIENDS
2009 THE HAPPIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD
2007 ALEXANDRA, short
2006 THE TUBE WITH A HAT
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Cast & Crew

Directed by: Radu Jude

Written by: Radu Jude, Gianina Carbunariu

Produced by: Ada Solomon, Claudia Duca

Cinematography: Marius Panduru

Editing: Catalin Cristutiu

Production Design: Irina Moscu

Costume Design: Dorin Negrau

Make-Up & Hair: Bianca Boeroiu, Domnica Bodogan

Sound: Jean Umansky

Casting: Liliana Toma

Cast: Serban Pavlu (The Father), Serban Lazarovici (Mugur Călinescu ), Bogdan Zamfir (Securitate Officer ), Ioana Iacob (The Mother)

Nominations and Awards

  • Feature Film Selection 2020