The New Year That Never Came
The fall of Romanian leader Nicolae Ceausescu is explored in this 1989-set debut.
Romania, a few days before Christmas in 1989, and the Nicolae Ceausescu regime is in its death throes. Not that the ordinary people of Bucharest know it – the news of an uprising in the city of Timisoara and the subsequent massacre of protestors by government forces is suppressed and sanitised, and a paralysing fear of the dictatorship still prevents many from speaking out against it.
With his accomplished feature debut, Bogdan Mureşanu views a pivotal moment in Romanian history – the fall of the Ceausescu regime – through the eyes and the interconnected stories of six ordinary people. It’s a confident and, at times, savagely funny work which builds to a blisteringly powerful conclusion.
Wendy Ide, Screen International
"The New Year That Never Came" is nominated for the European Film Academy awards in the categorie of European Discovery - Prix FIPRESCI.
Bogdan Muresanu (1974) is an award-winning Romanian writer and director who successfully shifted from literature and advertising to cinema. His work has covered animation, documentaries, fiction films and TV series. He produced and directed his first short film in 2012, based on his own script, “Half Shaved”, which was screened at festivals in Montreal, Reykjavik, Lille. His “The Christmas Gift” (2018) won the European Film Academy Award for Best Short Film 2019 and another 72 awards from 200 festivals including the Grand Prix at Clermont-Ferrand, Best European Short Film at Alcine European Film Festival and three awards at Tampere Film Festival. His short art documentary “Negruzzi 14” was showcased at the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Romania in 2016.
Anul Nou care n-a fost (The New Year That Never Came, 2024)