News in Short

This subject encompasses three distinct sub-topics: it begins with a miscellaneous fact, possibly suggested by a member of the public, followed by a brief coverage of the National Book Fair, and concludes with footage from the premiere of a famous film of the time—Then I Sentenced Them All to Death—by the equally famous filmmaker Sergiu Nicolaescu.

In the final seconds of the story, you may notice a subtle, almost confidential reference to the choreographic essay Into the Great Passage (În marea trecere), directed by a well-known documentary team – filmmaker Mirel Ilieșiu and cinematographer Doru Segall – with a choreography by Miriam Răducanu and a soundtrack featuring lyrics by poet Lucian Blaga, alongside five laments performed by the Madrigal Choir. The newsreel remained silent about this strange, controversial film, just as it did with other documentaries produced by the studio. These films were consistently omitted in newsreel coverage of national film festivals or premieres.

We include this topic not so much for what it covers, but for what it does not: what better proof of the minority status of the documentary in socialist Romania than these repeated silences—especially regarding films produced by the very same studio that produced the newsreel? (AB)