”Cabbage, potatoes and other demons” at Lungulețu, with Șerban Georgescu

    After making documentaries about climbing the Everest (Everest, 2003) and about travelling the world (Traveler for Life / Călător pe viață, 2012), the director Șerban Georgescu came down, cinematographically speaking, to the land of his country. He saw tons of cabbage and potatoes in the Lungulețu village and he was shocked to buy a ton for 100 lei. Such a display of work force and trucks is spectacular, but what kind of work is rewarded for so little money?
     ȘerbanGeorgescu didn`t have in mind an investigation documentary; he became a farmer for a year, instead. In a village with 1000 producers and 1000 tractors, where people have grown cabbage and potatoes for very many years. He rented 1 hectare of land that he started working with the help of some villagers. That was the moment when the demons appeared. The work, the expenses, the selling of the cabbage, the planting and the selling of the potatoes, the market price which is imposed upon by the middlemen. After a year, he summed things up and the result was that he was left with the documentary.
  Why do the people from Lungulețu keep doing the same thing even if many of them are almost broke? Because this is what they know how to do, this is what they inherited from their families. Each of them has a piece of land and his own tractor. Nothing in the world would make them get together and form an association. The mayor of the village received the project of the filmmaker as a chance of showing the villagers what opportunities they might have. Especially since the film has a touch of humour and it is a personal experience that sets an example:I don`t want to teach you anything, I just show you what happens.
Many people attended the screening that took place at the Cinema of the Romanian Peasant Museum in January -many people from Lungulețu, the mayor Vlad Ion and also the film crew.
 
    Developed at the Documentary Campus Masterschool and presented at the Leipzig Networking Days 2013, Cabbage, potatoes and other demons / Varză, cartofi și alți demoni is made with the support of the Romanian CNC and of the Creative Europe MEDIA Programme of the European Union with the participation of MDR, ARTE and of the Romanian Television Society.
The documentary - presented as a world premiere in November 2016 at theDok Leipzig– is produced by Elefant Film in co-production with Kolectiv Film and Ma.ja.de. Filmproduktion and it is distributed by Deckert Distribution and Ultraviolet Media. 
  Cinematography: Valeriu Ciubotaru
Traslation: Iulia Necoara