Romania

Essential for anyone involved in television or the world of video
     The new gimmick of Television was presented in Bucharest as early as 1937, in a few demonstrations of the revolutionary technique. Yet the first experimental broadcastings were to start only in 1955, covering in the beginning just the capital and its surroundings, while the first national channel started to broadcast on 31 December 1956. A second channel was inaugurated on 2 May 1968. The numbers of broadcasting hours grew from 571 in 1958 to 4,588 in 1982. Out of this total, 140 hours are in Hungarian (special programmes offered to the Hungarian minority living in Romania), and 95 hours in German, addressing the German minority of the country.
     The first channel, covering the entire territory, provides mainly news, information and commentaries in the fields of politics, economy, ideology, and social life. It also shows programmes of culture, the arts and sport, special educational programmes and, of course, entertainment. The second channel, covering a smaller area has a more specific cultural and artistic profile. Out of the total broadcasting time, 12.3 % is devoted to news; 18.9 % to educational programmes, 6.4 % to cultural commentaries, 10.5 % to movies, 5.5 % to theatre, 4.4 % to live sport transmission, 12.2 % to entertainment, 24.8 % to music and the remaining 5.1 % goes to various other themes. In 1984, the first channel switched, partially, to colour, using the PAL system. At 31 December 1984, there were 3,920,915 registered sets.
     Out of the many compartments of Romanian Television, one of the most active bodies is undoubtedly its Film Studio, most efficiently and cleverly run by Victoria Marinescu, who balances the demands of a broad audience, the propaganda tasks and the stylish taste for a definite aesthetic level. Since 1971, the TV Film Studio has produced or co-produced — having as partners either the Romanian cinema industry or various foreign television companies — a total of 15 serials, 40 long and medium features, 30 cartoons and 562 medium and short documentaries or musicals, all in colour.
     As one may right away notice, the peculiar fact about this Studio is the multiplicity of its goals. Practically, it deals with everything, from the most sophisticated pieces of art to sheer entertainment, from cultural propaganda films for the foreign market to cartoons for children. The more noteworthy is the quality of its achievements. Impressive financial, technical and artistic efforts were mainly required by the serials. The troublesome years of World War II, were recalled in the breathtaking The Search directed by Radu Gabrea (Urmarirea, 1971), a series of 7 episodes, while August in Flames (August în Flăcări, 1974), a 13 part series, directed by Dan Pița, Alexandru Tatos, and Doru Năstase, recaptured the feverish moments of preparing the anti-fascist uprisal of August 23rd 1944, which uprooted the course of Romanian history, opening the gates of revolution.
     A huge and colourful period fresco, Independence War (Războiul Independenței, 1976-1977), an 8 part series, directed by Sergiu Nicolaescu, Gheorghe Vitanidis, Doru Năstase, celebrated the centenary of the war that brought freedom to Romania after the secular Turkish sovereignty. 1848 (Anul 1848, 1981), a 16 episode series, directed by Mircea Moldovan, dealt with the revolutionary turmoil of a heroic generation of intellectuals generously attempting to free the country, to reform the medieval social structures and redeem the peasants poverty.
     A most ambitious endeavour was Lights and Shadows (Lumini și umbre, 1981-1982), a series in 33 episodes, which again recollected the World War II times and the efforts of the underground communist movement to overthrow the fascist dictatorship and turn arms against Nazi Germany. Written by Romania's best scriptwriter Titus Popovici, directed by two teams of directors, Andrei Blaier and Mihai Constantinescu for the first part and Andrei Blaier and Mircea Mureșan for the second one, and displaying a superb cast, Lights and Shadows enjoyed both great public favour and high praise from the critics, being awarded the Prize of Romania's Filmmakers Association. From the same historical period, seen this time through the eyes of a teenage girl boldly involved in an underground anti-fascist plot, was the 12 episode series Heroes are Ageless (Eroii nu au vârstă) by Mihai Constantinescu and Dan Mironescu.
     Addressing the child audience The White Rocket (Racheta albă, 1984), by Cristiana Nicolae dealt with the funny holiday adventures of a teenage group, while Fram (1982), an 8 part series, by Elisabeta Bostan recaptured in a romantic mood the fascinating but sometimes cruel world of the circus, following the tribulations of a family of acrobats taming a polar bear at the beginning of the century. Some of these serials were widely distributed abroad, the most requested on the foreign market being the cartoon serial Oacă and Boacă by Bob Călinescu.
     Banking primarily on the aesthetic fulfilment of the art of "telematic" expression, the TV Film Studio tried to get for its long, medium and short production of features those directors whose refined personal style could ensure a creative approach to the given topics. Alexandru Tatos’s sharp and provocative contemporary comedy The House between the Fields was such a hit that a after its network release, it ran with full houses in cinemas, being awarded the Prize for the best script and direction at the domestic Film Festival of Costinești.
     A thorough specialist of the musical field, Carmen Dobrescu enjoys also the reputation of a brilliant director. In 1972 she received for the film Millenary rhythms and harmonies (Ritmuri și armonii milenare) the Great Prize of the Dublin TV Festival, in 1973 for Genesis (Geneza) she was awarded the Great Prize of the Moscow TV Festival, while in 1977 her musical My friend, the old photographer (Prietenul meu, bătrânul fotograf), co-produced with Dutch Television, had a wide distribution.
     Among the other international laurels collected by Romanian TV producers, one should also note the Grand Prix of the Prague TV Festival received by Viorel Sergovici for The Third Suite "Săteasca" (Suita a III-a Săteasca), inspired by George Enescu's piece of music, or the Intervision Prize at the Plovdiv tv Festival received for The Shipping (Lansarea) by Dan Necșulea, one of the most prolific tv directors, specialising in thrillers. Also, presented in the Monte Carlo Festival, the film about the famous Olympic champion Nadia Comăneci, Birth of a miracle (Nașterea unui miracol), by Nicolae Oprițescu was widely acclaimed by the public who gave it the Prize of Popularity.
     Romanian Television is very active in terms of international co-operation and exchanges, and has co-produced films with CBS, BBC, RAI, France, ZDF, Austrian Television, etc., while also transmitting in the past decades some of the major hits of the world market, from Forsyte Saga to Vidocq, Kojak to Dallas, Colombo to The Saint, Marco Polo to Verdi, to mention just a few of the public's favourites. All foreign programmes are subtitled, since in Romania, for cultural reasons, films are never dubbed, not even in the cinema houses.