The Romanian New Wave ( ro, Noul val românesc) is a

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

of realist and often minimalist films made in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

since the mid-

aughts The ''aughts'' (American English) or ''noughties'' (British English) are terms referring to the decade 2000 to 2009. These arise from the words ''aught'' and ''nought'' respectively, both meaning zero 0 (zero) is a number representing a ...

, starting with two award-winning shorts by two Romanian directors, namely

Cristi Puiu Cristi Puiu (; born 3 April 1967) is a Romanian film director and screenwriter. With Anca Puiu and Alex Munteanu, in 2004 he founded a cinema production company, naming it Mandragora. Early life, education and career Cristian Emilian Puiu wa ...

's ''Cigarettes and Coffee'', which won the

Short Film Golden Bear The Short Film Golden Bear () is the most important award in the short film competition of the Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale ...

at the

2004 Berlin International Film Festival The 54th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 5–15 February 2004. The festival opened with out of competition film '' Cold Mountain'' by Anthony Minghella. ''25 Degrees in Winter'' by Stéphane Vuillet served as the closing ...

, and

Cătălin Mitulescu Cătălin Mitulescu (; born 13 January 1972 in Bucharest) is a Romanian film director. He graduated from the Caragiale National University of Theatre and Film in Bucharest in 2001. He is best known for the short film ''Trafic (2004 film), Trafic'' ...

's ''

Trafic ''Trafic'' (''Traffic'') is a 1971 Italian-French comedy film directed by Jacques Tati. ''Trafic'' was the last film to feature Tati's famous character of Monsieur Hulot, and followed the vein of earlier Tati films that lampooned modern society. ...

'', which won the

Short Film Palme d'Or The Short Film Palme d'Or (french: Palme d'Or du court métrage) is the highest prize given to a short film at the Cannes Film Festival. Since the creation of the Cinéfondation La ''Cinéfondation'' is a foundation under the aegis of the Cannes ...

at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

later that same year.

Themes

Aesthetically Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed th ...

, Romanian New Wave films share an austere, realist and often

minimalist In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...

approach. Furthermore,

black humour Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

tends to feature prominently. While several of them are set in the late 1980s, near the end of

Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( , ; – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian communist politician and dictator. He was the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and the second and last Communist leader of Romania. He was ...

totalitarian rule Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and regul ...

over

communist Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania ( ro, Republica Socialistă România, RSR) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist One-party state, one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989. From 1947 to 1965, the s ...

, exploring themes of freedom and resilience (''

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days ''4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days'' ( ro, 4 luni, 3 săptămâni și 2 zile) is a 2007 Romanian art film written and directed by Cristian Mungiu and starring Anamaria Marinca, Laura Vasiliu, and Vlad Ivanov. The film is set in Socialist Republic o ...

'', ''

The Paper Will Be Blue ''The Paper Will Be Blue'' ( ro, Hârtia va fi albastră) is a 2006 Romanian film written and directed by Radu Muntean. The story is set on the night between 22 and 23 December 1989, the time of the Romanian Revolution. It follows a Militia unit w ...

'', ''

The Way I Spent the End of the World ''The Way I Spent the End of the World'' ( ro, Cum mi-am petrecut sfârșitul lumii) is the feature-length film debut of Romanian director Cătălin Mitulescu. It was released on September 15, 2006. Synopsis The film is about 17-year-old Eva and ...

'', ''

Tales from the Golden Age ''Tales from the Golden Age'' ( ro, Amintiri din epoca de aur) is a 2009 Romanian omnibus film. It was screened as part of the Un Certain Regard section at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. The film is composed of six whimsical yet blackly comic ...

''), others, however (''

The Death of Mr. Lăzărescu ''The Death of Mr. Lazarescu'' ( ro, Moartea domnului Lăzărescu) is a 2005 Romanian dark comedy film by director Cristi Puiu. In the film an old man (Ioan Fiscuteanu) is carried by an ambulance from hospital to hospital all night long, as doctor ...

'', ''

California Dreamin' "California Dreamin'" is a song written by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips and first recorded by Barry McGuire. The best-known version is by the Mamas & the Papas, who sang backup on the original version and released it as a single in 196 ...

'', ''

Tuesday, After Christmas ''Tuesday, After Christmas'' ( ro, Marți, după Crăciun) is a 2010 Romanian film written and directed by Radu Muntean. The film was selected for the Un Certain Regard section of 2010 Cannes Film Festival. Plot Paul, a banker in Bucharest, has ...

''), unfold in modern-day Romania, and delve into the ways the

transition to democracy Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a full ...

and

free-market capitalism In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...

has shaped Romanian society after the

fall of communism The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...

in late 1989.

Award-winning films and directors

Romanian New Wave films and directors have won a significant number of important international

movie award This is a list of groups, organizations, and festivals that recognize achievements in cinema, usually by awarding various prizes. The awards sometimes also have popular unofficial names (such as the "Oscar" for Hollywood's Academy Awards), which ar ...

s at prestigious

FIAPF The FIAPF (Fédération Internationale des Associations de Producteurs de Films; en, International Federation of Film Producers Associations), created in 1933, is an organization composed with 36 member associations from 30 of the leading audio ...

-accredited

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon ...

s. Below are a few notable examples: Legend:

Other notable installments

Themes

Award-winning films and directors

Other notable installments

References

Further reading