The Right to Memory Campaign, organized by IICCMER and the Romanian Television, won the Prize of the President at the Gala of the Romanian Filmmakers Union

The Campaign The Right to Memory. Reasons for having a Museum of Communism in Bucharest, organized by IICCMER and the Romanian Television during May-June 2015, was awarded Prize of the President at the 2015 Gala of the Romanian Filmmakers Union.

The campaign was also nominated for “Best TV documentary” and “Jury Special Prize”.

The documentary The Right to Memory. Reasons for having a Museum of Communism in Bucharest included seven episodes, each one dedicated to a certain period and specific topic regarding the communist regime. The novelty of the approach consisted, among other things, in the permanent comparison between memorials and museums which already exit in other countries from Central and Eastern Europe which went through the totalitarian experience. The campaign ended with a debate that summed up the conclusions of the documentaries.

The episodes are available online and are structured as follows:

Episode I, May 8, 2015: Histories at a crossroad [ISTORII LA RĂSCRUCE]

The end of WWII found Romania occupied by the troops of the Red Army, without Bessarabia, northern Transylvania and with its fate sealed at Yalta. The Sovietisation started before the peace treaty. Any trace of resistance was annihilated. The Baltic States became acquainted, maybe to a higher extent than any other communized state, with the violence of communization.

Director: Ruxandra Ţuchel

Episode II, May 15, 2015: The Romanian Gulag [GULAGUL ROMÂNESC]

Director: Roxana Chiriţă

Episode III, May 22, 2015: The Arrested Thought [GÂNDIREA ARESTATĂ]

Director: Roxana Chiriţă

Episode IV, May 29, 2015: Running from Hell [FUGA DIN INFERN]

Director: Cristina Rădulescu

Episode V, June 6, 2015: Freedom? [LIBERTATE?]

Director: Cristina Oancea

Episode VI, June 13, 2015: Six stories from communism [ŞASE POVEŞTI DIN COMUNISM]

Director: Ruxandra Ţuchel

Episode VII, June 19, 2015: The collective history [ISTORIA COMUNĂ]

Director: Alexandru Munteanu

Episode VIII, June 26, 2015: Debate-Conclusions [DEZBATERE-CONCLUZII]

The campaign was part of a series of actions meant to raise awareness on the need to create a Museum of Communism. Among the main objectives of creating such a museum are ensuring the knowledge of the recent past by the general audience, as well as encouraging the new generation to build a better future for this long hardened country. Bucharest is one of the few capitals of the former communist countries not yet to have a museum dedicated to the totalitarian period and IICCMER together with the Parliament, other governmental institutions and the civil society aimed to change that. At the same time, as it owns a wide video archive, the Romanian Television holds a crucial place in reaching this goal.

TEAM

Narrator: Constantin Lupescu

Production organizer: Octav Lungu

Sound: Sergiu Istrate, Cătălin Putineanu, Răzvan Nițescu

Image assistants: Alexandru Bengescu, Puiu Gorescu, Tache Cristea

Musical illustration: Andreea Mărgineanu, Tudor Stănescu

Soundtrack: Cornel Ciuleanu, Răzvan Ionescu, Victor Epure

Montage: Constantin Marciuc, Cătălin Burlă, Iulian Condea, Luci Mocensz

DOP: Dinu Mărgărint, Silviu Andrei, Mihai Covrig, Ion Cristodulo, Dan Constantinescu jr.

Redactor: Mariana Ioniță

Producer: Alexandru Munteanu