Harun Farocki and Andrei Ujica’s hard-hitting documentary Videograms of a Revolution (1992, 106 minutes) subversively records Romania’s 1989 revolution. The film documents the historic first-ever revolution in which television played a major role, stitching together official Romanian state television broadcasts with amateur archival footage. For this remarkable film, the directors collected over 125 hours of never before seen amateur and professional video footage, including the fall, attempted flight, and Christmas-day execution of communist President Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena. The film’s protagonist is contemporary history itself.

Videograms of a Revolution – An evening in Romanian Cinema, will take place on Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 at 7 pm.  The screening will be held in the Signy and Cléophée Eaton Theatre, ROM Level 1B – please enter through the President’s Choice School Entrance at the south end of the Museum at 100 Queen’s Park, Toronto.

The film will be preceded by award-winning short film Traffic (2004, 15 minutes) directed by Romanian filmmaker Catalin Mitulescu. Winner of the Cannes’ Palme d’Or for Best Short Film, Traffic follows businessman Tudor during his 20 minute break in twenty-first-century Bucharest.

The films are presented by the ROM’s Institute for Contemporary Culture (ICC), as part of the exhibition programming for Dan Perjovschi: Late News, open until August 15, 2010.

General Admission: $10 / ROM Members & Students $8 / Friends of ICC: $6

Tickets available at the door.

EXHIBITION: DAN PERJOVSCHI: LATE NEWS

During his ten days in residence at the ROM in February 2010, internationally renowned artist Dan Perjovschi transformed the dramatic soaring walls of the ICC’s Roloff Beny Gallery with his brilliant and irreverent cartoons. Commenting on everything from the Olympics to Avatar and the ROM’s Michael Lee-Chin Chrystal, Romanian-born Perjovschi’s acclaimed exhibitions are always a personal response to the social and political atmosphere, and the geographic location, in which they are created.

One of Eastern Europe’s most sought-after contemporary artists, Perjovschi has developed a unique artistic practice that merges the political cartoon with the site-specific art installation. Traveling to museums and galleries around the world, Perjovschi immerses himself in the local media – newspapers, magazines, television, and the internet – and creates wall drawings in response to local and international events. Recognized for his unique style, his drawings are noted for their biting humour and honest insights into our collective conscience.

The Institute for Contemporary Culture is proud to present Dan Perjovschi’s first solo exhibition in Canada. It will remain on view until August 15, 2010, when his ephemeral drawings in permanent marker are erased and painted over again.

Generously supported by Dekla.

FREE with ROM admission during regular Museum hours.

For more information on ICC events, please visit www.rom.on.ca/icc/

For the full Press Release please click: http://rom.on.ca/news/releases/public.php?mediakey=gdf0s0ha5r

the Institute for Contemporary Culture (ICC) is the Royal Ontario Museum’s (ROM) window on contemporary societies around the globe. playing a vital role within the historical museum, the ICC examines current cultural, social and political issues throughout the modern world in thought-provoking exhibitions of contemporary art, architecture and design. for more information visit www.rom.on.ca/icc or on facebook at @IccAtRom

In honour of its co-presentation of Alexander Nanau’s “The World According to Ion B.” at this year’s Hot Docs festival , ToRo has curated an online exhibit showcasing the work of Ion Barladeanu.

This online exhibit covers more than 30 of Ion B.’s works, in the hope that it offers a different look into the artist’s world.

Having awoken from a brief mid-winter hibernation, we’re very excited to bring you the following news. North America’s largest documentary festival, Hot Docs, is set to begin on April 29 (running until May 9), showcasing over 170 films from 40 countries. We are extremely happy to announce that ToRo Arts Group will be co-presenting the screening of Alexander Nanau’s The World According to Ion B. The screening is part of Hot Docs’ “Next” program, which explores creativity in the performing and visual arts.

Please visit the Hot Docs website for more information – http://www.hotdocs.ca/film/title/the_world_according_to_ion_b

Director: Alexander Nanau
Producer(s): Carmen Harabagiu, Aurelian Nica, Andrei Cretulescu
Executive Producer: Alexander Nanau
Writer: Alexander Nanau
Cinematographer: Alexander Nanau
Editor: Mircea Olteanu
Composer: Dan Parvu
Sound: Matthias Lempert

“Ion Bârlădeanu is a homeless man living in a garbage-strewn alleyway in Bucharest when he is discovered by a gallerist and lands his first art show at the age of sixty-two. After decades of toiling in obscurity, amassing thousands of image clippings, Ion’s collages are now being curated and collected. An outsider turned ingénue, he goes from being a “useless piece of junk” under communism to a big success—with his own home and bicycle—within capitalism. Living under Ceausescu’s regime forced Ion to create art in the truest sense—for himself, as a means of self-expression. His scathing and provocative political collages make statements that could never have been made in Romanian society until now. Proving Hippocrates’ adage that ‘art is long, life is short,’ filmmaker Alexander Nanau chronicles one man’s complete transformation at the end of his life, and shows how his art will outlive us all.”
- Angie Driscoll

Best Documentary – Gopo Awards 2010

Official Site – http://www.theworldaccordingtoionb.com/

Screening times:
Friday, April 30 7:15 pm  - Innis Town Hall (Buy tickets)

Sunday, May 02 1:45 pm – Cumberland 2 (Buy tickets)

We have recently been informed that Martin Crimp’s ‘The City,’ an Actors Repertory Company (ARC; arcstage.com) production, is scheduled to open, at Toronto’s Berkeley Street Theatre, on March 19th and close on April 3rd.

To commemorate the Toronto debut of the production’s director, Theodor-Cristian Popescu, discounted tickets will be made available to the Romanian community in Toronto.

Tickets are available for purchase either by phone, at 416 368 3110, online, at canstage.com, in person, at the Berkeley Street Box Office, or at the door – please use the promotional word ‘NOROC.’

Additional information can be found on the ARC website.

Thank you to all who attended the festival, either in its entirety or otherwise, to our special guests, Tudor Giurgiu and Andrei Dascalescu and, of course, our dedicated volunteers without whom this event would not have been as successful. We will be posting more details shortly.

The ToRo Team

Due to flight complications Hanno Hofer will no longer be in attendance at the screening of Tales From the Golden Age on Friday.

We apologize for this inconvenience.

The ToRo Team

Continuing our dedication to doing the ToRo, we have prepared an exciting night, following our opening-night screening of “Tales From the Golden Age.”

Taking note from last year’s packed opening celebrations, we made the necessary accommodations, and collaborated with our friends from Shades@Nite and Liquid String Productions.

WHERE:
Situated at Yonge & Bloor, Peridot Resto.Lounge will function as the gathering place of the festival’s guests and audience, offering an elegant and chic decor with a heated rooftop patio.

For map, click here: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=81+Bloor+St.+East%2C+Toronto%2C+ON
(there is ample parking on the South-West corner of the nearby Bloor and Church intersection)

WHEN:
Feb.5, 9:30pm
(NOTE: those coming straight from our opening screening can make their way straight to Peridot)

WHO:
Valentin – DJ - will provide the night’s musical foundation upon which jazz-trumpeter Danny DePoe (Bedouin Soundclash) and percussionist Matthew Strugg will improvise and expand, guiding us well into the night.

HOW(much):
A cover charge of $5 will be in effect, the waiving of which being conditional on having satisfactorily evidenced the purchase of a Festival ticket.

***PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS A 19+ EVENT***

*more info:
Peridot Resto.Lounge – http://www.peridotrestolounge.com/

Valentin – DJ - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2363073398&ref=ts

Danny DePoe – http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=info&ref=ts&gid=18372757122

Shades@Nite – http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=440677990643&ref=ts

Once again, the festival’s official media sponsor, EYE Weekly, is giving away festival passes.

For your chance to win, visit http://www.eyeweekly.com/static/82268.

Good luck!

Katalin Varga (2009)
Director: Peter Strickland
Screenwriter: Peter Strickland
Cast: Hilda Peter, Norbert Tankó, Tibor Pálfy, Melinda Kántor, László Matray, Roberto Giacomello, Sebastian Marina
Running time: 90 min.

An avenging angel by the name of Katalin Varga scales the Carpathian Mountains by horse and is in possession of the one thing that can redefine her husaband’s notion of redemption.

2009 – Discovery Award at the European Film Awards
2009 – Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Achievement at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Apocalypse on Wheels (2008)
Director: Alexandru Solomon
Running: 52 min.

screening co-presented by

The streets of Bucharest are busy with fast cars and no driver seems to follow any rules – the result is complete chaos. Director Solomon explores how the streets and the traffic in them could be seen as a metaphor for contemporary Romanian society.

2009 – Transylvania International Film Festival 2009 – Sofia International Film Festival
2010 – Wiesbaden Festival of Central and Eastern European Film