A masterclass by a distinguished Romanian director – known for his documentary and feature films - Tudor Giurgiu.

About the masterclass:

How do we approach reality when we are scripting and directing a feature film? How much can we fictionalize, how accurate should be the depicting of reality? Is there need to show “all”, “everything”, being explicite or we can let the viewer make his own narrative as well?

I had all these questions in mind before tackling the stories of two films I’ve directed, “Why me?” and “Libertate”, both being based on real and dramatic events happened in Romania.

But there are many more topics to be covered, starting with you own responsibility, as author and storyteller when dealing with such sensible topics.

Member of the European Film Academy, Tudor is the founder and President of the Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF), the most prestigious film-related event in Romania, considered by Indiewire as one of the “world's top 50 leading film festivals”. Tudor was one of the 24 leaders across the globe who participated in 2014 at the prestigious Eisenhower Fellowships program. Initiator of the GOPO Awards, annual awards for best achievements in local filmmaking, member of the international jury of Emmy Awards 2012, Giurgiu was also General Director of Romanian National Television (TVR) between 2005-2007.  

His directorial debut feature Love Sick was selected in Panorama section of 2006 Berlinale and awarded in several int’l festivals). His short Superman, Spiderman or Batman (2011) won Best European Short at the 2012 edition of European Film Academy Awards. Tudor’s 2nd feature, Of Snails and Men, was awarded in Warsaw IFF and Valladolid IFF. “Why Me?”, an unsettling legal thriller based on a real case of corruption in present-day Romania, premiered in 2015 Berlinale Panorama. His most recent film is “Libertate”, a story inspired by real events happened when communism fell in December 1989; he is also in postproduction with “Nasty”, a documentary about career of iconic tennis player Ilie Nastase. 

Tudor produced or co-produced more than 50 feature films such as Servants by Ivan Ostrochovsky (Berlinale 2020), Katalin Varga by Peter Strickland (Silver Bear in 2009 Berlinale), Cendres et Sang by Fanny Ardant (Cannes 2009) 

About "Libertate":

Based on a true story, though the only fiction film in this year's festival lineup, Tudor Giurgiu's film takes us to Sibiu, a provincial town in Romania, amidst the 1989 revolution. The narrative unfolds in a world previously bound by a dictator's iron grip, now crumbling like a house of cards. Party activists, secret police officers, and generals accuse each other of treason. As news of Ceaușescu's fall filters in from Bucharest, shots ring out in the city. In this chaos, distinguishing between old enemies and current friends becomes a challenge. Giurgiu captures an atmosphere of pervasive paranoia with mastery. In a country under the Securitate's omnipotent watch, everyone is a suspect. The film poses the question: who will emerge victorious in this duel without rules, and whose version of history will remain in the textbooks?

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