Synopsis
Foreword: When it comes to traveling abroad, Romanians have a predisposition that could be read as ignorance. The tendency was and still is to go West, with variations of South, or even North for the more introverted, but rarely East, which remains a remote and unpenetrated land. In “77 Years Back” we witness just such an atypical journey. (cinepub.ro)
Directed by: Dan Stroie, Alexandru Bodrug
Cast: Victor Stroie
Producer: DSF Media Film
Cinematography: Dan Stroie, Maria Stroie, Alexandru Bodrug
Edited by: Emilia Coman
Sound: Matei Vasilache
Music: Matei Vasilache
Year: 2023
Category: Short film
Genre: Documentary
Duration: 37 minutes
7,172 – Cinepub viewers
PLOT SUMMARY
The film is a touching and heartfelt exploration of a grandson’s journey with his grandfather to uncover the truth about their family’s past as refugees from Bessarabia.
It follows the grandson, Dan, as he films his grandpa recounting memories and seeking information about his birth and his relatives in the Republic of Moldova. Through their journey, they have emotional encounters with people of Bessarabia and navigate bureaucratic challenges in their search for answers. Along the way, the bond between Dan and his grandpa, Victor, grows stronger, and the film captures the significance of listening to and caring for our elders.
FESTIVALS
- 2024 – Trieste Film Festival
CRITICAL REVIEWS
- “A journey to rediscover values, in an increasingly divided world, where we rarely turn to our elders and our origins to learn their stories and know ourselves better through them. “ – excelentasidezvoltare.ro
- “What is interesting in the film, more interesting than the journey itself – which feels dramatized, aiming at Bergman’s “Wild Strawberries”, the raw material resisting dramatization – is the enthusiasm and eagerness with which Stroie junior pushes his grandfather to be part of this adventure mapped a priori through storytelling tricks learned in Film School.” – Emil Vasilache, cinepub.ro
- “The last part of the movie (and the most juicy of them all), finds the Stroie family members together at home, on the eve of the winter holidays. We glimpse a good bit of family fresco, covering material conditions, kinship, customs and so on. But more than that, we see the full extent of the grandson’s attachment to his grandfather and we have a moment of vulnerable confession between the two.” – Emil Vasilache, cinepub.ro
TRIVIA
- Dan Stroie, co-director of the movie, says: “The film is a declaration of love for my grandfather and a tribute to the strengh and wisdom of our elders. It is my hope that this film serves as a reminder to audiences of the profound connections that can be formed when we care, listen, and honor the stories of our loved ones. Through this journey, I have learned that by truly valuing and understanding our family’s past, we can build a stronger and more meaningful present and future.”
- Although Dan’s grandfather had always wanted to make this journey to his own Bessarabian origins, the timing was never right – until the grandson’s initiative. Thus, the making of the documentary film and the research of the past aligned and harmonized into a well knit and harmonious project.
- The documentary was realized in two phases: initially, out of economy of materials, team, finances, it was filmed for 2 days. Then, after a period of fundraising, the team returned to Bessarabia and finalized the project.
- The filmmakers, together with the protagonist Victor Stroie, learned new information about the grandfather’s past during the filming process, which they integrated into the final documentary.
- In 2023, ICI Bucharest, through a partnership with Dan Stroie, launched an exclusive collection of digital graphic art (NFTs) inspired by the film. “(The Digital Archives) reflect the emotions of the story of the grandfather who, together with his grandson, sets out in search of his birthplace in Moldova after 77 years. Each NFT will contain an image expressing one of the emotions experienced by Grandpa Victor on his journey and a quote from the movie.” (agerpres.ro)
LINES
“Are we filming silence?” – Grandfather (Victor Stroie)
“We film everything.” – Grandson (Dan Stroie)“I was adopted by a gentleman whose son died in the war in ’44. (…) And he adopted me as a replacement for his son who died in the army.” – Grandfather (Victor Stroie)
“But the way to leave then, in this refuge was: either you left on your own responsibility to your relatives eventually, like that, or you left, maybe even without necessarily wanting to, but you were forced by evacuation order (…) There were many refugees.” – Grandfather (Victor Stroie)
“I cannot die because the soul goes where you been. And my soul wouldn’t know which way to go. I had to arrive here, then my soul would come.” – Grandfather (Victor Stroie)
“I hope they won’t make me change my name to Tescovschi. The law clearly says that no matter how long you’ve carried a name that doesn’t belong to you, you revert to the name you had before.” – Grandfather (Victor Stroie)
“Grandma! Look at me, like this, side by side!” – Grandson (Dan Stroie)
“At some point, everything, you and everyone will be forgotten. (…) Over 50, over 200, over 500, over 1 000 years, come on 2 000 – you are Jesus Christ. They will remember you maybe over 3 000, but over 10 000 it’s over.” – Grandson (Dan Stroie)
“What remains for longer? A construction? The pyramid?” – Grandfather (Victor Stroie)
“You know I love you! You are making me proud of myself!” – Grandfather (Victor Stroie)
“We communicate from the soul!” – Grandfather (Victor Stroie)
ARTICLES
- 77 Years Back – danstroie.ro
- Documentary 77 Years Back – excelentasidezvoltare.ro
- A collection of NFTs inspired by the movie “77 Years Back” will be launched on Friday on the platform ICI D|SERVICES – agerpres.ro
- ICI Bucharest announces a new NFTs collection on the ICI D|SERVICES platform – ici.ro
- 77 Years Back – triestefilmfestival.it
- A new collection of Romanian NFTs to be launched on Friday – dcbusiness.ro
