Synopsis
Foreword: Produced in 1979, by Șerban Creangă, the film also follows the life and destiny of the socialist and anarchist fighter, Ștefan Gheorghiu, sketching a social, massively politicized fresco of Romania at the beginning of the 20th century.
Directed by: Șerban Creangă
Script by: Mihai Creangă, Ion Pavelescu, Șerban Creangă
Cast: George Șofrag, Dan Nuțu, Val Săndulescu, Valeria Seciu, Carmen Galin, George Constantin, Octavian Cotescu, Dana Dogaru, Constantin Codrescu, Gabriel Iencec, Gelu Colgeac, Ovidiu Schumaher, Marian Hudac, Florin Zamfirescu, Mihai Mălaimare, Anton Tauf, Nicolae Ivănescu, Ernest Maftei, Florin Călinescu, Gelu Nițu, Valeriu Arnăutu
Producer: Anca Georgescu (delegated producer), Eugen Mandric (executive producer) Film House 3
Cinematography by: Florin Paraschiv
Edited by: Iulia Vincenz
Sound: Aly Yenel
Music: Nicu Alifantis
Year: 1979
Category: Feature film
Genre: Biographical
Duration: 92 minutes
PLOT SUMMARY
The film follows in a much romanticized manner the biography of the socialist militant Stefan Gheorghiu, who along other socialist fighters and lesser-known anarchists (I.C. Frimu, M.G. Bujor, Gheorghe Cristescu.) had an essential contribution to the socialist movement in Romania at the beginning of the 20th century.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
“Ștefan Gheorghiu (is)… a fascinating character, too little known in his complexity and vision”– Șerban Creangă, quoted by R. Panait” in “Unaligned Start “, Special Cinema Magazine 1978
AWARDS
- 1979 – ACIN Awards – Special Jury Prize and Scenery Award
CRITICAL REVIEWS:
“…ideology and phraseology of party and state gaining filmic dimensions. It is not by chance that the next films to emerge from the collaboration of the Creangă brothers will be Speranța, a biographical film dedicated to the socialist activist and activist Ștefan Gheorghiu and, later, the Labyrinth, which has I. C. Frimu as its main character.” Radio Free Europe Romania, news 23 July 1989
“The performance of the trio Mihai Creangă, Ion Pavelescu and Șerban Creangă (and the signatory of the direction of the new Romanian film”Speranța”) is the natural and often convincing unfolding of the vintage images penetrated by an impressive patriotic breath, images able to highlight the face of a teenager who will soon become a national hero: Ștefan Gheorghiu.” – Simelia Radlow, “Speranța”, Student Life magazine no. 40/1979
“His task (George Șofrag, ed.) was undoubtedly difficult, but the actor received real support, both through the background sobriety of the script and through the good intuition of adolescent psychology, by Serban Creangă, to which was added the director’s preference for revealing strong characters without thickening, without sacrificing the idea, in favor of his attitude towards the character” – Ion Parhon, “Speranța”, Familia magazine, no. 12/1979
TRIVIA:
- Ștefan Gheorghiu was a carpenter from Ploiești and a political acitvist
- Died at 35 of tuberculosis
- Ștefan Gheorghiu became the Academy of Political Socialist Education of the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party
- Lică Secăreș, Volodea Pasti and Joșca Boda were three of the most important lecturers of this political academy
- The continuation of the institution, after the revolution, is SNSPA
- Shortly after filming, Dan Nuțu fled to the West and was for a while a announcer at Free Europe
QUOTES:
Have you eaten at my place bitter, watered with tears and much toil?!
Am I a bedbug?! Suck your blood?!
Fist ruled the world. Fist and coin. The mind of man has no quest
We want to be seen as people, with beasts of burden.
ARTICLES:
- “Speranța”, Ion Parhon in Familia magazine, no. 12/1979
- “Speranța” Semelia Radlow in Viața Studențească magazine, no. 40/1979
- News of 23 July 1989, Radio Free Europe Romania, – europalibera.org
- “Unaligned Start”, R. Panait, Special Cinema Store, 1978
This premiere is part of a national archive project supported by the Romanian National Film Centre.
Special thanks goes to the Romanian Filmmakers Union and to the Romanian Film Archive.
