In my search for new and special places where one can go out to watch a film besides the mall cinemas, I came across a very cool initiative – screenings of old movies and long forgotten cinematic gems at MARe, the Museum of Recent Art in Bucharest. Once a month, in the museum’s auditorium, with free entrance, films from the ’60s are screened for the general public. There are films that you probably haven’t heard of, but which deserve our full attention.

The initiative is called “FilMARe”, and Cristian Vechiu (program coordinator) tells us more about why and how these screenings happen:

Ok, I think we all know about MARe, the Museum of Recent Art in Bucharest, a special museum with must-see exhibitions. How did you come up with the idea of organizing film screenings at the museum?

From the beginning we wanted our program at MARe to be a complex one, to offer more than the experience of an ordinary, common museum. The exceptional facilities of the building are of great help in this regard: the screening room, our Auditorium, I think is currently one of the best theater halls in the country. Even though small (maximum 40 seats), this room meets the highest standards for audio-visual screenings. Thus, it came quite natural to MARe to host a film program which complements the series of activities we have beyond exhibitions: painting and architecture workshops for children, poetry and dance evenings, musical events, etc.

I read on your Facebook page that you don’t want to bet on “big titles”, but rather on “small long forgotten gems”. Who chooses the films for the screenings and on what basis?

FilMARe was conceived in collaboration with Cristi Mărculescu, he is our film curator, and I am the program coordinator. Under his guidance, we propose titles that might be less well known or not at all seen in our cinemas, but the directors who were behind these films are some of the most acclaimed ones. In other words, we try to bring to light the works of great directors who have marked the history of cinema but who haven’t received enough attention during the last two decades.

The second edition of FilMARe took place yesterday, and the film chosen this time was Terrore nello spazio, from 1965. Why exactly this film?

Mario Bava, the director of the film, was one of the most talented Italian filmmakers, a horror master who never benefited from impressive budgets, but who managed to surprise and innovate due to his originality and style in a somewhat underrated film genre nowadays. Terrore nello spazio is a film that combines the horror with the SF and which, as Cristi Mărculescu said, “is credited for being the starting point of the Alien series.”

Entrance is free at the FilMARe screenings. How is this project currently being received by your audience?

At the moment we are trying to build an audience, to bring to our screenings those people who are passionate about the history of cinema, eager to have significant cinematic experiences and with whom we could communicate after each movie night. Those who participated at the first edition were happy to watch a masterpiece film by Paradjanov, and the screening was followed by open discussions while enjoying a glass of wine and the lyricism of the Soviet director. We will also have guests from the film industry (directors, critics, actors) for after screening debates.

I know this might come out as cheating, but I need to ask – what other movies do you have on the list for future screenings?

I won’t reveal them yet, we try to keep as much suspense when it comes to the titles and surprise the public every month, but I can tell you that there will be screenings of films by directors from Japan and Latin America, and, towards the end of winter, maybe even from France.

I understand that on this first phase you explore the films made in the 60s, but what’s next?

Yes, throughout the year we wish to offer films from the 60s, a period that can be neglected in the history of recent cinema, but without which the great successes of the 70s and 80s would not have been possible, and not just chronologically speaking, but also stylistic, idealistic-wise, etc. Therefore, until next year in September-October, we will be caught with the decade of the hippies :). What will follow next, I think it will be a leap in time, but not necessarily oriented to another decade, but rather we will follow a thread on a conceptual level.

Are you planning other film related projects at MARe?

Sure! In addition to FilMARe, we also had animation screenings at the museum. We are in partnership with Animest; in summer (August) we had 3 outdoor screenings, and this fall, two weekends in a row, the Auditorium has hosted Minimest. We also aim to explore the area of documentary and experimental films, to create other partnerships with film festivals or events that match the vision and values of our museum. FilMARe is just the beginning, and I say “just” not because the program will disappear at some point, but because it will grow in time into a cornerstone for all the activities related to film and cinema taking place at the Museum of Recent Art.

Romina Banu

Photographer and editor; she co-founded Dissolved Magazine together with Melissa. For Films in Frame she gathers film and TV series recommendations for lazy weekends and she writes about interesting projects from the film industry. Other than that, she likes traveling, chilling with her cats and sleeping.