Uppercase print
Movie | |
---|---|
German title | Uppercase print |
Original title | Tipografic majuscul |
Country of production | Romania |
original language | Romanian |
Publishing year | 2020 |
length | 128 minutes |
Rod | |
Director | Radu Jew |
script | Radu Jude, Gianina Cărbunariu |
production | Ada Solomon |
camera | Marius Panduru |
cut | Cătălin Cristuţiu |
occupation | |
|
Uppercase Print (original title Tipografic majuscul , Romanian for “ large font ” or “capital letters”) is a film by Radu Jude that celebrated its international premiere on February 22, 2020 at the Berlin Film Festival in the Berlinale Forum.
action
The Fence Case (The Fence Case)
In 1981 in Botoșani in north-eastern Romania, political demands were painted on the walls of houses and on public buildings, usually beginning with "vrem ..." ("we want ..."), but mostly not against something, but rather to Urge you to rethink. The statement, written in large letters in chalk , is quickly removed by the Securitate , in Romania at the same time the intelligence service and secret police. The area is then monitored and personal checks are carried out.
The Pupil (The Pupil)
Mugur Calinescu's mother is concerned that her son is not coming home. The student was caught smearing houses with chalk, arrested and handed over to the Securitate . When he is released back home, his mother encourages him to report to the Securitate and tell them who incited him to do so, because she cannot believe that her son just sneaks out of the house so late at night and in the dark moved through town. Mugur, however, tells Securitate that he was inspired for his action by Radio Free Europe , a station from West Germany operated by the Americans, and by his knowledge that a union has just been founded in Poland. He doesn't regret his action.
His parents promise the Securitate that something like this will never happen again. Mugur is also supposed to vow this, but it is difficult for him. His father, who is divorced from his mother, fears consequences for the whole family. The case is also being investigated at Mugur's school. You don't know whether to pass this off as a kid's stupidity or blame the teachers for failure. In 1982 Mugur vowed that he had blossomed into a model student. He now regrets his action and says he would like to study economics.
Today (Today)
The former Securitate employees are now doing something different, and their view of the past and their previous work has also changed. They claim that they have always tried to reintegrate young people like Mugur into society through their work. They protect not only their own actions, but also the politics of Ceaușescu .
Mugur has died in the meantime, and his mother complains that her 17-year-old boy was given coffee to drink during the interrogations. The city of Botoșani is now paved with advertisements for products from the West.
Biographical and template
The film tells the true story of Mugur Calinescu , who protested against the regime with graffiti under the Ceaușescu regime and was persecuted by the secret police for this. Born in Botoşani in northeast Romania in 1965 , Calinescu was part of a group of students who spoke out against the regime of communist leader Nicolae Ceauşescu. They expressed themselves through graffiti like “We want freedom of expression” and “We want food, we want rights, we want freedom” which they wrote on the walls of government buildings in Botosani at night. The first graffiti was found on September 12, 1981 on the wall of the Communist Party District Association. The following day, one was found on the fence of the city's cultural center.
One night Calinescu was caught writing and turned over to the notorious secret police, Securitate . During the interrogation, he was not only forced to sit in front of a strong light for hours, but was also forced to drink the entire contents of one cup of coffee. After each visit, he reported severe headaches to his mother. In 1983 he was diagnosed with leukemia. After his death in 1985, there were speculations as to whether Calinescu's disease could be due to poisoning or radiation during the investigation. He was declared a luptator împotriva regimului totalitar ( fighter against the totalitarian regime ) post mortem . In May 2017, the dissident's body was exhumed to find out whether his leukemia was caused by radioactive poisoning by State Security officials.
The case is documented in the files of the Romanian secret police. The theater director Gianina Cărbunariu used the story for her documentary play Tipografic Majuscul , on which the film is essentially based in its structure and structure.
production
Bar and film title
The director is Radu Jude , who wrote the script together with Carbunariu. In addition to elements from the play, Jude uses archive footage from Romanian television of the time. He found out about the Calinescu case in 2012 through the book Șase feluri de a muri (“Six Ways to Die”) by Marius Oprea. He found it interesting that even through the highly standardized language in his files, the story of a 16-year-old stuck into a mechanism that gradually cuts him off from friends and family. After seeing Carbunarius play Tipografic Majuscul in 2012, he wanted to make a film with her, to which he could also contribute his own ideas: “If this film looks very different from what I've done before, then that lies also on this joint work, on this special starting point. "
The film title refers to the block letters or capital letters with which the group around Calinescu described public buildings in Botoșani.
publication
The international premiere of the film took place on February 22, 2020 at the Berlin Film Festival , where it was shown in the Berlinale Forum. It was released in Romanian cinemas on February 21, 2020. At the end of August 2020, the film was presented at the Molodist International Film Festival , which took place in a hybrid version.
Awards
Uppercase Print is in the preselection for the European Film Award 2020 .
Web links
- Uppercase print in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Uppercase Print - Trailer at cineuropa.org (Video)
- Tipografic majuscul / Uppercase Print in the program of the Berlin Film Festival
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Monica Chiorpec and Ana Nedelea: Berlinale 2020: Romanian cinema shows strong presence again. In: rri.ro, February 8, 2020.
- ↑ a b c d Ana Maria Touma: Romanian Dissident Exhumed to Test Poisoning. In: Balkan Insight, May 18, 2017.
- ↑ a b c Tipografic majuscul / Uppercase Print. In: arsenal-berlin.de. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
- ↑ https://www.berlinale.de/de/presse/pressevorfuehrungen/detail.html?film_id=202001948
- ↑ Romanian director Radu Jude to present three productions at 2020 Berlinale. In: romania-insider.com, January 21, 2020.
- ↑ Berlinale Forum publishes all 35 films. In: Blickpunkt: Film, January 20, 2020.
- ↑ 150 films: International film festival “Molodist” announced the program. In: cinema.in.ua, August 8, 2020.
- ↑ EFA 2020 | EFA Feature Film Selection | Part 1 . In: europeanfilmawards.eu, August 18, 2020.