Radu Mihaileanu, 55, is a Jewish Romanian-born French film director and screenwriter. He left Romania in 1980 to study in Paris, and his best known film is Le concert/Concertul, from 2009, which won the Best Original Score and Best Sound awards at César Awards in 2010. It was also nominated for two Magritte Awards in the category of Best Co-Production and Best Editing for Ludo Troch in 2011, and Best Foreign Film at the 68th Golden Globe Awards.
Mircea Danieliuc, 70, has been directing films since the 70s, but is best known for his early 90s movies, such as Senatorul melcilor/The Snails’ Senator from 1995, A 11-a poruncă/The 11-th Commandment from 1991, Tusea şi junghiul /The Toothless War from 1992, Patul conjugal/The Conjugal Bed from 1993 and Această lehamite/Fed Up, from 1994. His latest movie was released in 2009. Danieliuc was also a writer and a stage director.
Nae Caranfil, aged 52, made his feature film debut in 1993, with the film E Pericoloso Sporgersi, and continued with the road movie comedy Asfalt tango starring Charlotte Rampling in 1996, and with Dolce far niente in 1998. His biggest hit however was Filantropica in 2002. In 2007, he directed The Rest is Silence/Restul e tăcere.
Cristian Nemescu was one of the most awarded Romanian directors and among the youngest of his generation. His most famous film, California Dreamin’, starring Armand Assante, got the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes in May 2007, one year after the young director died. Nemescu died in a car accident in August 2006, soon after finishing filming California Dreamin’. Nemescu’s graduation film, Poveste la scara C/A story from the C entrance, won for him the NYU International Student Film Festival prize, as well as the award at Premiers Plans in Angers, France. His medium-length film Marilena de la P7/Marilena from P7 entered the Cannes competition in 2006. His last film, California Dreamin’ also bears the addition (nesfârșit/endless), as he never got to finish editing the film. In the released film, his working materials are cut to 155 minutes. Besides the Cannes award, the film got numerous other international awards and was very well received at home too.
Tudor Giurgiu is probably among the best known Romanian directors and producers. He is the initiator of the Transylvania Film Festival and its president. His fist big hit was Legăturibolnăvicioase/Love sick in 2006, which was followed by Superman, Spiderman or Batman in 2011, and by Despre oameni şi melci/Of Men and Snails in 2012. As a producer, he is known for the documentary Marele jaf comunist/The great communist robbery from 2004 and for Caravana cinematografica/Kino caravan in 2009, as well as for the 2012 film Undeva la Palilula/Somewhere in Palilula.
Marian Crisan won the Palme D’Or in 2008 for his short film Megatron. His feature length film debut was in 2010, with Morgen, which won him the special jury award at Locarno. His second feature length film, Rocker, premiered in 2012, and was selected for several international film festivals.
Adrian Sitaru is the author of several short films, including Waves/Valuri, which received numerous prizes. His first feature film, Pescuit sportiv/Hooked, for which, besides being the director, he also wrote the script, has been screened at film festivals around the world and in the main competition of the 2009 Premiers Plans Festival in Angers, France. He also directed Best Intentions/Din dragoste, cu cele mai bune intenții in 2011, which snatched various awards, including two at Locarno festival, and Domestic, in 2012.
Radu Muntean is another central figure of the new wave of Romanian cinema. His best-known films are The Paper Will Be Blue/Hârtia va fi albastră, from 2006, Boogie from 2008, and Tuesday, After Christmas, from 2010.
Catalin Mitulescu is best known for his short film Trafic/Traffic, which won him a Short Film Palme d’Or at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. His debut film, The Way I Spent the End of the World/Cum mi-am petrecut sfârşitul lumii was also screened at Cannes in 2006, while his latest hit, Loverboy, from 2011, premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the same film festival.
Radu Jude, 36, is the director of the most awarded Romanian short film of all times, Lampa cu caciula/The lamp with a hat, which in 2006 snatched awards at Sundance, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and at many other international competitions. His debut feature film was The happiest girl in the world/cea mai fericita fata din lume, in 2009, which got a handful of international awards. In 2012, he directed Everybody in our family/Toată lumea din familia noastră, a comedy-drama film which also won some international awards.
Corneliu Porumboiu, the 38-year old film director, is known for his films 12:08 East of Bucharest/ A fost sau n-a fost?, from 2006, a revisiting of the 1989 Romanian revolution, which got the Camera D’or prize at Cannes, and for the much acclaimed Police, Adjective/Polițist, adjectiv from 2009, another Cannes-awarded entry in the Un Certain Regard section.
Cristi Puiu is no stranger to fame at home and abroad. In 2004, when he was still in the beginning of his career, he got the Golden Bear at Berlin for his short film Cigarettes and Coffee/Un cartuș de Kent și un pachet de cafea. His earlier film Stuff and Dough/Marfa şi Banii from 2001 was quite popular in Romania, while his later works, The Death of Mr. Lăzărescu/Moartea domnului Lăzărescu from 2005 and Aurora from 2010 became award magnets.
Cristian Mungiu is already an established director, known both at home and abroad, after his Palmes D’Or win in 2007 for the film 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days/4 luni, 3 săptămâni si două zile. After two more successful films, Tales from the Golden age in 2010/Amintiri din epoca de aur, and Beyond the Hills/Dup[ dealuri in 2012, Mungiu was elected member of the jury at Cannes festival in 2013. His film Beyond the hills was also among the stars at the 2012 Cannes film festival. His earlier work, Occident, from 2002, was another hit at home.
Călin Peter Netzer is a new name on the Romanian cinema scene, but his film Child’s Pose/Pozitia Copilului snatched the Berlin Film Festival award in 2012. The film managed to get the highest box office gains in Romania and the highest number of viewers, exceeding another popular one, the 2002 production of Filantropica, directed by Nae Caranfil.
Corneliu Baba, another famous Romanian painter, lived in the 20th century and is best known for his portraits. Most of his works stayed in Romania and many local museums exhibit at least a painting of Baba’s. He painted the portraits of actress Lucia Sturdza-Bulandra, composer George Enescu, writer Mihail Sadoveanu and poet Tudor Arghezi. Inspired by Rembrandt, Baba used to prepare his portraits by doing numerous sketches of the hands and eyes.
Gheorghe Tăttărescu was a pioneer of neoclassicism in Romania. Having lived in the 19th century, Tăttărescu started as a church painter and studied at the Paintersț school in Buzău, founded by his uncle, Nicolae Teodorescu. Together with his uncle, he painted the Rătești monestery in Buzău. Tăttărescu got a scholarhip at the Academia San Luca din Roma, where he was inspired by the Italian accamedia style, making copies of Rafael Sanzio paintings, among others.
Back in Romania, he took part in the 1948 revolution, painting the portraits of revolutionairies Gheorghe Magheru and Ștefan Golescu, as well as that of Nicolae Bălcescu, in three almost identical copies. He continued to paint churches, having painted as many as 50 churches together with his students between 1853 and 1892. He founded the school of belles artes, together with Theodor Aman. In Bucharest, the house where he lived for about 40 years was turned into a museum, which now houses many of his works (7 Domnița Anastasia St.)
Theodor Pallady was one of the few famous 19th and 20th century painters who did not study arts to begin with. Born in the second part of the 19th century, Pallady first studied Politehnics in Dresden at the same time taking art classes. He eventually left for Paris, where he studied arts. He joined Gustave Moreauțs workshop and had several famous colleagues such as Henri Matisse, with whom he became close friends. He was influenced by both his friend Matisse and by Paul Cesane’s art.
Gheorghe Petrașcu was a Romanian painter and academic who got a scholarship to study abroad in Munich and Paris at the turn of the 20th century, following a recommendation by Nicolae Grigorescu. In his early years, he painted landscapes in Romania and abroad, especially in France, Spain and Italy. His Venice landscapes are among his most famous works.
Theodor Aman was a Romanian painter of Armenian descent. A contemporary to Nicolae Grigorescu in the 19th century, Aman was the founder of the first school of belles artes in Romania at Iași and Bucharest. He studied in Paris and was influenced by the Italian Renaissance masters. Aman is known for his paintings of historic scenes, as well as for his landscape paintings of the Câmpulung-Muscel area, where he was born. Among his most famous paintings are Michael the Brave’s last night (Cea din urmă noapte a lui Mihai Viteazul), The Battle of Oltenița (Bătălia de la Oltenița), The Princedoms’ Union (Unirea Principatelor) and Tudor Vladimirescu.
Ștefan Luchian, known as the painter of flowers, was the student of Nicolae Grigorescu. Like his master and his younger colleague Tonitza, Luchian studied both in Paris and in Munich. While in Paris, studying at the Juliard Academy, Tonitza was influenced by the impressionism movement, which was in full swing in the 1890s. In 1900, at the age of 32, he noticed the first signs of the multiple sclerosis, which would eventually leave him handicapped for his entire life. Even so, he managed to paint but failed to achieve much success during his lifetime. From 1909 until he died in 1916, he was stuck in an armchair. However Luchian continued to work, despite having difficulties holding the brush. Towards the end of his life, unable to hold the brush with his paralyzed fingers, he even requested it be tied to his wrist. His self portrait, called A painter (Un zugrav), from 1907, is among the most iconic self portraits of a Romanian painter, and manages to depict the hardships of continuing to paint despite his illness. Among his most famous paintings are Annemonas (Anemone), numerous flower paintings, as well as portraits, Safta the flower girl (Safta florăreasa) and Moș Nicolae Cobzarul.
Nicolae Tonitza is yet another famous name in art auctions. Along with Grigorescu, Tonitza’s work features among the most expensive by Romanian painters. Born in the last part of the 19th century, Tonitza was only briefly a contemporary of Grigoescu. By the time Grigorescu died, in 1907, Tonitza was in his university years and had recently started to paint. In 1908, he left for Munich, where he attended the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. He then spent the following years in Paris, where he visited artists’ studios, and studied famous paintings. Similarly to Grigorescu, Tonitza too painted Orthodox churches. While being a painter, he was also a newspaper editor, as well as a columnist. Inspired by the Impressionist movement, Tonitza was critical of Grigorescu, back then a trend-setter in Romanian art, and owed much of his style to his predecessor, Ștefan Luchian. Tonitza is known for his child portraits, as well as for potraits of young girls and for his flower paintings. His most expensive painting ever sold in Romania, In the bedroom (Iniatac) sold for EUR 290,000 at a local auction in 2012, which ranked him first among the most expensive Romanian painters in 2012.
Nicolae Grigorescu is one of the best-known Romanian painters. His fame has gone past national borders with his works selling at various auctions in the US and in Europe. Grigorescu – whose portrait can be found on the RON 10 banknote – is one of the founders of modern painting in Romania, having lived in the second half of the 19th century. In his early apprenticeship years, he painted churches and in 1861he left to study in Paris, at the École des Beaux-Arts. He was part of the Barbizon school of painters, painting alongside Jean-François Millet, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Gustave Courbet and Théodore Rousseau. After contributing paintings to the Universal Exposition of Paris 1867, Grigorescu, aged 39, was called to accompany the Romanian army as a frontline painter in the 1877 Romanian War of Independence. Later on in his life, he worked in France for about 11 years and in 1890, he returned to the city of Câmpina, where he started painting pastoral themes, creating some of his best known works, including portraits of peasant girls, pictures of ox carts on dusty country roads and other landscapes.
His most famous paintings, which see him ranked among the most expensive painters locally, include Peasants Resting from Work (in Romanian Ţărăncuţă odihnindu-se), which fetched EUR 270,000 at auction last year, several versions of Ox Carts (in Romanian Car cu boi) and The Smârdan attack (Atacul de la Smârdan).
Express Bus 783 departs from the International Departures Hall and the journey downtown takes approximately 40 minutes. It departs Monday-Friday every 15 minutes until 20:00 and every 30 minutes until 23:00. At night, it runs every 40 minutes.
The fare is RON 7 for a magnetic card valid for two trips and a monthly ticket costs RON 80. The cards can be purchased at the ticket counter in the Domestic Flights Hall. Cards must be validated upon boarding the bus, using the machines. Express Bus 780 goes to the main train station (Gara de Nord). The fee for one trip is about RON 3.5 and RON 27 for ten trips.
The taxi fare from downtown Bucharest to the airport (or the other way around) should be of around RON 50 (less than EUR 10), depending on traffic. Make sure to take a cab with a fare below RON 2 per km, you will see it written on its door. They might try to convince you to pay the trip back to the city but you should not do so, as they will get a customer back. When arriving, use the official cab ordering device, which is multilingual and which issues a ticket mentioning the cab company, cab number and time until arrival. Then wait for your cab in the area marked with two yelow flags outside the terminal.
Most Romanians love to get out of Bucharest on weekends, either to the seaside or the mountains, depending on season. The most popular Bucharest exits are – the Sun highway in the east for going to the seaside, the Bucharest – Ploiești highway, to the north, and the DN1, also to the north, via Otopeni, passing by the airport, which goes to Ploiești and the mountain resorts in the Prahovei Valley. Another exit to the West on the A1 highway Bucharest – Pitești is the main road to the West Romania, and an alternative choice for those going to Transylvania.
The Romanian railway company CFR – for Căile Ferate Române – provides a reliable and often scenic means of transport to destinations outside Bucharest. Information in English: cfrcalatori.ro, or m.cfrcalatori.ro.
You can buy tickets in advance for all trains at the Bucharest’s main railway station (Gara de Nord). Visitors departing within 24 hours, however, must buy their tickets at the relevant train station, where queues can be long.
Romanian law requires the driver of any vehicle involved in an accident to stop immediately at the scene of the accident, find out if anyone is hurt. If someone is injured, call 112 straight away and try to provide the injured person all reasonable assistance, including transportation to a doctor or hospital. For minor accidents, there is a ‘friendly option’ available called “Constatare amiabilă” or ‘Friendly resolution’. Your insurance company will issue a form that you can use for this procedure. If the accident resulted in only material damages, you must go within 24 hours of the accident to an Collision Damage Bureau to obtain repair permits.
Cars are parked almost everywhere including on pavements, at pedestrian crossings, at bus stops, on corners and where ‘No Parking’ signs are clearly posted! There is also a lot of confusion about car towing, as there are different towing companies in every district of Bucharest.
There are several fees you will have to pay for a violation: the lifting, towing and storage fees are different in each sector. But in addition to these fees, the police will fine you for the violation and give you penalty points on your license. If you can’t find your car where you parked it, most likely it was towed. Check the listings section for contact numbers.
Parking is one of the biggest issues in Bucharest. Most office buildings and shopping centers have adequately sized parking lots, the municipality itself does not offer many options. There are several car parks however – check listings section. To park the car near your home, the municipality offers the option of renting parking places outside your building. After you buy your parking place, you can mark it using your car registration number. Avoid using someone else’s paid spot as they may damage your car if you do so a couple of times in a row.
People tend to get very angry about this in Bucharest. If someone took your parking place, you can use the Romanian method: honk your horn until they come and move their car. It is surprisingly effective. If they do not come, or it happens more than once, lift up their windscreen wipers: this will let them know they are in the wrong spot!
If you are moving to Romania with your own car, or are even just driving through, you have to pay the Romanian road tax, which is called “Rovinieta”. The authorities will be able to check electronically whether you bought the Rovinieta or not, as cameras have been installed at city exits.
The tax can be paid for a period of one day, seven days (EUR 3), thirty days (EUR 7) and one year (EUR 28), and can be paid in RON at current exchange rates. Several gas stations sell the Rovinieta.
The main (and most congested!) boulevards are Calea Victoriei, Ștefan cel Mare, Buzești, Unirii Blvd., and Șos. Mihai Bravu. The traffic in Bucharest has improved since the opening of the 1.9 – km Basarab flyover.
Driving in Bucharest is not the easiest task, although we have heard of more hectic driving in other countries. Traffic is a problem here. Some of the streets are also bad, so expect potholes.
The rush hours – mornings and end of work day – are sometimes impossible, while some routes are clogged with traffic all day- Splaiul Independenței, Calea Victoriei, Piața Unirii, Bălcescu Blvd. Magheru Blvd., Piața Romană and Piața Victoriei. Sometimes drivers do not respect traffic lights, nor do they see anything wrong with driving off road or parking on the pavement! The biggest challenge, apart from getting used to these in the first place, will be to stop yourself from doing the same after a while!
Avoid going from south to north during rush hours. Expect to hear a lot of honking while driving, especially during traffic jams. To check for the state of traffic in Bucharest, check Google maps and its Traffic feature for Bucharest. It also shows traffic on the main highways in Romania.