tranzit.ro/ Bucuresti adopts two documentaries for One World Romania
The 11th edition, 2018
Picturesque Epochs
by Péter Forgács
Hungary, 133 min., 2016
17 March, 9 pm, Cinema Elvire Popesco
Screening in the presence of the director Péter Forgács
18 March, 6 pm, Cinemateca Union
Screening in the presence of the director Péter Forgács
Picturesque Epochs, the most famous episode of Péter Forgács’s series Private Hungary about Hungary throughout the 20th century, captures details from the life of the painter Mária Gánóczy, interested – just like Forgács – in depicting in her work the history of century she’s lived. The protagonist, born in 1927, has lived in extremely different political epochs, but the documentary focuses primarily on the Communist epoch, when she made most of her home movies. As in the other episodes of the series, the structure of the film here is mainly based on a collage of audio-visual elements, thus blurring the lines between documentary and video art, at least from a formal point of view: footage from Mária Gánóczy’s personal archive, interviews with her and a famous Hungarian art critic, the presentation of her paintings, written captions and varied aural inserts, split-screen frames and so on. The result is a sublime mix of histories, which, together, offer a particular and nuanced perspective on the history of Hungary throughout the last century and, in part, on the recent history of Eastern Europe.
Alpha Beta Gamma
by Dragoș Turea
Republic of Moldova, 2018, work-in-progress
21 March, 4 pm, ARCUB, Sala Arcelor
Screening in the presence of the director Dragoș Turea
The film is built on secret confessions and testimonies of the scientists who were directly involved in the implementation of radioactive experiments, when the Republic of Moldova became the most important experimental field of application of atomic energy in Soviet agriculture. It presents, for the very first time, the activity radioactive Gamma-Units, which for many decades – were considered strictly confidential information and guarded as a state secret by the authorities and what is left of these research centers nowadays. The movie researches the main elements of radiobiology: genetic mutations, radiological stimulation, and of course, the moral aspects underlying the use of such technology. Alpha Beta Gamma attempts to answer questions of utmost significance about maintaining the natural progress of evolution, the threats posed by radiation biology and the truly global risks and danger represented by the vast radioactive waste storage facilities and sites.
