# 12:08 East of Bucharest
**12:08 East of Bucharest** (*A fost sau n-a fost?*) is a 2006 Romanian satirical comedy-drama directed and written by Corneliu Porumboiu, in which a small-town television host stages a debate on whether a revolution actually took place in his town during the 1989 fall of Romanian dictator [Nicolae Ceaușescu](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicolae-ceausescu). The title refers to 12:08 p.m. on 22 December 1989, the moment Ceaușescu fled [Bucharest](https://www.edgepedia.org/bucharest) by helicopter, and the question the panel must answer is whether anyone in the town was in the streets before that moment.[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/64424/) • [2](https://www.clevelandfilm.org/films/1208-east-of-bucharest-2007/) The film won the Caméra d'Or for best first feature at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and is regarded as an early work of the Romanian New Wave.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0809407/awards/) • [4](https://www.timeout.com/movies/12-08-east-of-bucharest)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | *A fost sau n-a fost?* ("Was there or wasn't there [a revolution]?")[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/64424/) |
| Director and writer | Corneliu Porumboiu, his debut feature, directed in 2005 and premiered at Cannes Directors' Fortnight 2006[5](https://www.europeanfilmawards.eu/efa-movie/1208-east-of-bucharest/) |
| Runtime and country | 89 minutes, Romania, in Romanian[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/64424/) • [2](https://www.clevelandfilm.org/films/1208-east-of-bucharest-2007/) |
| Main cast | Mircea Andreescu (Emanoil Piscoci), Teodor Corban (Virgil Jderescu), Ion Sapdaru (Tiberiu Manescu)[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/1208-east-of-bucharest/) |
| Cannes 2006 | Caméra d'Or and Label Europa Cinemas; Directors' Fortnight selection[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0809407/awards/) • [1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/64424/) |
| US release | June 6, 2007, the second Romanian film to enter the American market in several years, after *The Death of Mr. Lazarescu*[7](https://hotnews.ro/romanian-flick-1208-east-of-bucharest-hits-us-theaters-803962) |
| Critical reception | Metascore 77 from 16 critic reviews; 94% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 49 reviews[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/1208-east-of-bucharest/) • [8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1208_east_of_bucharest) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and premise
The film is set on 22 December, sixteen years after the day in 1989 when crowds forced Ceaușescu to leave Bucharest by helicopter, an event much of the country watched live on television.[2](https://www.clevelandfilm.org/films/1208-east-of-bucharest-2007/) • [5](https://www.europeanfilmawards.eu/efa-movie/1208-east-of-bucharest/) Christmas is approaching. Three men in a quiet town east of the capital prepare for the anniversary in their own ways: Piscoci, an old retiree who sometimes plays [Santa Claus](https://www.edgepedia.org/santa-claus), is facing another lonely Christmas; Manescu, a history teacher, has just spent his entire salary paying off his drinking debts; and Jderescu, owner of the local television station, is not interested in the holidays at all.[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/64424/) • [9](https://istoriafilmului.ro/film/a-fost-sau-n-a-fost-1208-east-of-bucharest/?print=print)
Jderescu invites Piscoci and Manescu onto his talk show to answer a question that has gone unanswered for sixteen years: was there, or was there not, a revolution in their town?[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/64424/) Manescu claims he was demonstrating in the city square before Ceaușescu fled, while Piscoci recalls that not a single soul was on the streets before midday.[10](https://www.screendaily.com/1208-east-of-bucharest-a-fost-sau-na-fost/4027736.article) Phone-in callers then challenge the two "heroes", suggesting they may have been drinking in a bar or preparing for Christmas rather than rebelling.[5](https://www.europeanfilmawards.eu/efa-movie/1208-east-of-bucharest/) • [9](https://istoriafilmului.ro/film/a-fost-sau-n-a-fost-1208-east-of-bucharest/?print=print) The broadcast, shot in real time on an amateurish set, is the film's centerpiece.[9](https://istoriafilmului.ro/film/a-fost-sau-n-a-fost-1208-east-of-bucharest/?print=print)
## Production
Porumboiu shot the film in Vaslui, his hometown in eastern Romania, with a low budget and a spare visual style built on stationary cameras, a muted palette, and grainy film stock.[10](https://www.screendaily.com/1208-east-of-bucharest-a-fost-sau-na-fost/4027736.article) • [8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1208_east_of_bucharest) Marius Panduru was the cinematographer, Roxana Szel the editor, Daniel Raduta the production designer, and the band Rotaria supplied the music; the production company was 42 Km Film, with Porumboiu himself as producer.[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/64424/) • [9](https://istoriafilmului.ro/film/a-fost-sau-n-a-fost-1208-east-of-bucharest/?print=print)
The director was born in Romania in 1975 and graduated in 2003 from the Bucharest University of Drama and Film; his short films, including *Liviu's Dream* (2003), won him a Prix de la Cinéfondation at Cannes in 2004, and *12:08 East of Bucharest* was his first feature.[5](https://www.europeanfilmawards.eu/efa-movie/1208-east-of-bucharest/)
## Themes and style
The film examines how hard facts become historical myth. Reviewers have read it as a study of how people rewrite, or at least recast, history to suit their own purposes, and of the reality that most people are bystanders to the events they later claim to have shaped.[8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1208_east_of_bucharest) • [2](https://www.clevelandfilm.org/films/1208-east-of-bucharest-2007/) The Screen Daily review adds a wider social layer: sixteen years on, the town's quality of life has not visibly improved, intellectuals still drink their troubles away while claiming a civic valor they never possessed, and television, which should disseminate truth, is a clumsy tool in the hands of non-professionals.[10](https://www.screendaily.com/1208-east-of-bucharest-a-fost-sau-na-fost/4027736.article)
The first half introduces the three main characters in a series of near-burlesque episodes that amount to a social tour of present-day small-town Romania; the humor is deadpan and dry, and the film has been described as a comedy that could almost pass for a documentary.[4](https://www.timeout.com/movies/12-08-east-of-bucharest) • [10](https://www.screendaily.com/1208-east-of-bucharest-a-fost-sau-na-fost/4027736.article)
## Release and reception
The film premiered in the Directors' Fortnight at Cannes in 2006, where it won the Caméra d'Or and the Label Europa Cinemas award.[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/64424/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0809407/awards/) At the fifth Transilvania International Film Festival it took three prizes: best film in competition, best film of the Romanian Days, and the audience award.[9](https://istoriafilmului.ro/film/a-fost-sau-n-a-fost-1208-east-of-bucharest/?print=print) It later received 4 wins and 7 nominations at the Gopo Awards, Romania's national film prizes, and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award in 2007.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/1208-east-of-bucharest/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0809407/awards/)
In the United States it opened on June 6, 2007, with six daily screenings at the Film Forum in Manhattan, and American critics received it favorably; a New York Times review said Porumboiu celebrates Balkan humor as a weapon of survival.[7](https://hotnews.ro/romanian-flick-1208-east-of-bucharest-hits-us-theaters-803962) Aggregate scores were strong: a Metascore of 77 with 94% of critics positive, and a Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus calling it "a thoroughly enjoyable Romanian comedy" with a witty script full of satirical overtones and dry humor.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/1208-east-of-bucharest/) • [8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1208_east_of_bucharest) In Romania itself the film drew 13,355 cinema admissions according to a national tally running to 31 December 2014.[11](https://ro.sberopedia.org/wiki/A_fost_sau_n-a_fost%3F)
## Place in the Romanian New Wave
The film appeared amid a cluster of Romanian successes at mid-decade: Cristi Puiu's *The Death of Mr. Lazarescu* (2005), Cristian Mungiu's Palme d'Or-winning *4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days*, and Cristian Nemescu's *California Dreamin'* all drew international attention in the same period, and Time Out asked whether it was too early to speak of a new wave while noting the shared historical gaze of these films.[4](https://www.timeout.com/movies/12-08-east-of-bucharest) Within that group, *12:08 East of Bucharest* stands out as a comedy, and it remains Porumboiu's most internationally awarded debut; he went on to make films including *[Police, Adjective](https://www.edgepedia.org/police-adjective)* (2009).[12](https://chlotrudis.org/review/1208-2/) • [13](https://mubi.com/en/films/1208-east-of-bucharest/critics-reviews)
## References
1. [12:08 East of Bucharest, Cineuropa](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/64424/)
2. [12:08 East of Bucharest, Cleveland International Film Festival archives](https://www.clevelandfilm.org/films/1208-east-of-bucharest-2007/)
3. [12:08 East of Bucharest (2006) – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0809407/awards/)
4. [12:08 East of Bucharest review, Time Out (Dave Calhoun, 2007)](https://www.timeout.com/movies/12-08-east-of-bucharest)
5. [12:08 East of Bucharest, European Film Academy](https://www.europeanfilmawards.eu/efa-movie/1208-east-of-bucharest/)
6. [12:08 East of Bucharest, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/1208-east-of-bucharest/)
7. [Romanian flick "12:08 East of Bucharest" hits US theaters, HotNews.ro (2007)](https://hotnews.ro/romanian-flick-1208-east-of-bucharest-hits-us-theaters-803962)
8. [12:08 East of Bucharest, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1208_east_of_bucharest)
9. [A fost sau n-a fost? (12:08 East of Bucharest), IstoriaFilmului](https://istoriafilmului.ro/film/a-fost-sau-n-a-fost-1208-east-of-bucharest/?print=print)
10. [12:08, East Of Bucharest review, Screen Daily (Dan Fainaru, 2006)](https://www.screendaily.com/1208-east-of-bucharest-a-fost-sau-na-fost/4027736.article)
11. [A fost sau n-a fost?, Sberopedia (Romanian)](https://ro.sberopedia.org/wiki/A_fost_sau_n-a_fost%3F)
12. [12:08 East of Bucharest review, Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film](https://chlotrudis.org/review/1208-2/)
13. [12:08 East of Bucharest critic reviews, MUBI](https://mubi.com/en/films/1208-east-of-bucharest/critics-reviews)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2005 to 2006*
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