New Book about Cannes Film Fest at 80! (May 2027)
Caméra d’Or Winning Films (1978-Present)
Corneliu Porumboiu directed 12:08 East of Bucharest (Romanian: ‘Was it or was it not?’), a Romanian dark comedy that won the Caméra d’Or Prize (for best first film) at the Cannes Film Festival.
The feature was also released in the U.S. under the titles East of Bucharest and 12:08 Bucharest.
The English title refers to the setting and ntime at which Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu fled following the revolution, 12:08 pm on 22 December 1989.
The original Romanian title roughly translates to “Was it, or was it not?” referring to the issue: did Vaslui have any part in the 1989 revolution?
The film is set in a small Romanian town far away from the capital city of Bucharest, and centers on a group of characters who revisit the Romanian Revolution of 1989 which brought an end to the communist regime.
A few years after the fall of the Communist regime, some inhabitants discuss how to celebrate the anniversary of the event. They decide to organize a TV broadcast on local broadcaster involving people by phone.
So Virgil Jderescu, director of the local television station, really wants to organise a live talk show to answer a simple question: has there really been a revolution in this city? Did people take to the streets before or after Ceaușescu’s escape? Because if they took to the streets later, then it is not about the Revolution but about simple celebrations.
The two expected guests decline the commitment, because the topic is more thorny than Jderescu thinks. But he overcomes those absences and invites two other people. The first is Tiberiu Manescu, a drunkard and penniless professor who has always boasted that he was the first in town to challenge the men of the dictator. The other guest is Emanoil Piscoci, a rigorous and paranoid old man who at that time used to dress up as Moș Gerilă for children.
The broadcast begins and Professor Manescu proudly exposes his experience as a revolutionary, but two viewers call live denying his presence in the square and accusing him of speaking under the influence of alcohol.
The calm confrontation becomes embarrassing when Manescu begins to blurt out the flaws of some local “notables,” including the same editor Virgil Jderescu who apparently is not a journalist but a textile engineer.
The talk-show, initially feel-good, takes a grotesque turn, when even the elderly Piscoci, hitherto silent, pretends to be a “philosopher” and begins his nonsensical statements
Though the story is sligt, a witty script with satirical overtones and self-mocking tone elevate considerably the pleasure of watching 12:08 East of Bucharest.
Cast
Mircea Andreescu as Emanoil Pișcoci
Teodor Corban as Virgil Jderescu
Ion Sapdaru as Tiberiu Mănescu
Mirela Cioabă as Doamna Mănescu
Luminița Gheorghiu as Doamna Jderescu
Cristina Ciofu as Vali
Lucian Iftime as Lică
Annemarie Chertic as Vera
Petrică Sapdaru as Petrică
Cătălin Paraschiv as Barman
George Guoqingyun as Chen
Constantin Diță as Tibi
Daniel Badale as Professor
Marius Rogojinski as Vecin (credited as Marius Rogojinschi)
New Book about Cannes Film Fest at 80! (May 2027)
Caméra d’Or Winning Films (1978-Present)
Alambrista! (1978), US
2. Northern Lights (1979), US
3. Adrien’s Story (1980), French
4. Desperado City (1981), West German
5. Half a Life (1982), French
6. The Princess (1983), Hungarian
7. Stranger Than Paradise (1984), US
8. Oriana (1985), Venezuela
9. Noir et Blanc (1986), French (woman)
10. Robinsonada or My English Grandfather (1987), Soviet-Georgian
11. Salaam Bombay! (1988), US-Imndoa (woman)
12. My 20th Century (1989), Hungary (woman)
13. Freeze Die Come to Life (1990)
14. Toto the Hero (1991), Belgium
15. Mac (1992), US
16. The Scent of Green Papaya (1993), Vietnam
17. Coming to Terms with the Dead (1994)
18. The White Balloon (1995), Iran
19. Love Serenade (1996), Australia (woman)
20. Suzaku (1997)
21. Slam (1998), US
22. Marana Simhasanam (1999), Iran
23. Tie
Djomeh (2000)
A Time for Drunken Horses (2000)
24. Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001), Canadian
25. Seaside (2002)
26. Reconstruction (2003)
27. Or (My Treasure) (2004), Israel (woman)
28. Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005), US (woman)
29. The Forsaken Land (2005)
30. 12:08 East of Bucharest (2006), Romania
31. Jellyfish (2007), Israel
32. Hunger (2008), UK (Black)
33. Samson and Delilah (2009)
34. Año bisiesto (2010)
35. Las Acacias (2011)
36. Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012), US
37. Ilo Ilo (2013)
38. Party Girl (2014)
39. Land and Shade (2015)
40. Divines (2016)
41. Montparnasse Bienvenue (2017)
42. Girl (2018), Belgium (Gay director)
43. Our Mothers (2019)
44. Murina (2021)
45. War Pony (2022), US (woman)
46. Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell (2023)
47. Armand (2024)
48. The President’s Cake (2025)
49. ? (to be announced May 24, 2026)
