June 6 – 7, 2020
Romanian director Lucian Pintilie's career in theater, cinema, and opera was one of the most notable in contemporary performing arts. He launched his theater career in Bucharest, but went on to direct successful productions in many parts of the world — in 1986 he staged Henrik Ibsen's The Wild Duck for Washington, DC's Arena Stage. He remained one of Europe's most inspiring filmmakers for several decades, exploring themes like oppression and repentance. His first film, Sunday at Six (1965) so aggravated Romanian censors that he was not allowed to make his next film, The Reenactment, until 1968; then, it was banned. (The Reenactment screened at the Gallery in 2019 as part of the series Welcome to Absurdistan: Eastern European Cinema 1950 to 1989). This program, which is showing simultaneously with The Romanians: 30 Years of Cinema Revolution at the AFI in Silver Spring, includes three of Pintilie's most notable later feature films. Special thanks to Oana Radu, Mihai Chirilov, David Schwartz, and Corina Șuteu.