Romanian Film Festival Seattle 2020 [Online]

So, What's Freedom? (Q&A on Nov. 21)

Expired November 23, 2020 7:59 AM
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Zoom Q&A with director Andrei Zinca on Nov. 21 at 7:30pm PST! This talk will be LIVE on this page at that time, and will be automatically recorded and added to the end of the film playlist for later viewing. Please note: this film program and its accompanying livestream are available only to viewers in the United States.

So, What’s Freedom? is an adaptation of Ana Blandiana’s short story Past Projects. Inspired by true events, the film recreates the drama of a handful of people out of the 40,000 innocents who were deported to the huge fields of Bărăgan, a sort of no man’s land of Romania in the 1950s.


A history teacher who puts his hopes in the change promised by communists, his intelligent wife who teaches French and dreams of going to Paris, a Hungarian Romanian, a German Romanian, the family of an Orthodox priest, and a former soldier have to build literally from ground up first a shack, then small adobe houses, in order to survive the harsh winters and hot summers. They trade their jewels for food and a few animals. Life goes on at a huge price but they never lose their dignity and that sets them free.


The minimalistic yet well-informed script, incredibly beautiful cinematography, excellent acting and subtle music do not provide answers to the question posed by the title of the film, but suggest that the question is more important than the answer.

  • Year
    2020
  • Runtime
    133 minutes
  • Language
    Romanian with English subtitles
  • Country
    Romania & US
  • Director
    Andrei Zincă
  • Screenwriter
    Andrei Zincă based on a novel by Ana Blandiana
  • Producer
    Double 4 Studios, Tica Trade
  • Cast
    Olimpia Melinte, Nicodim Ungureanu, Toma Cuzin, Radu Iacoban, Radu Bânzaru, Iulia Lumânare, Tünde Skovrán, Magda Catone
  • Music
    Daniel Szabo