A new media art installation by ShortsUP

Bucharest, Romania, October 22, 2020 - Curated by Alexandra Safriuc from ShortsUP Association and film historian Gabriela Filippi, “A Brief History of Romanian shorts (1890 – 2000)” is a new media art installation which kicked off as a need to identify the particularities of Romanian short film history. The installation, a cross between film archive research work and new media technology, is a first step in a larger attempt to recover and research Romania’s neglected short film history, stored for decades at the National Romanian Film Archive, and make it available to the contemporary public. 

The first step of the project was researching the audio-visual heritage found in the National Film Archives and selecting short films that are relevant and speak to a broader contemporary public. 

The selection of 15 short films, made between 1890 -2000, includes one of Romania’s first home movies filmed during World War I, one of the world’s first scientific documentaries filmed in a hospital in Bucharest and rare animations done by famous artist Geta Brătescu, all in a time period spanning from 1890 to 2020.  

Co-financed by the Romania’s National Cultural Fund Administration, the project also contributed to digitally restoring the national archive by restoring three films - În familia Ressel / The Ressel Family (1916), Orașul nu doarme niciodată / The City Never Sleeps (1949) and La Mere / Apples (1953). 

În familia Ressel / The Ressel Family

Orașul nu doarme niciodată / The City Never Sleeps

La Mere / Apples

Besides the research component, the project aimed to experiment with a new way of showcasing short films and interacting with the general public. In partnership with Augmented Space Agency, ShortsUP created an augmented reality installation that featured the 15 short films that could be accessed through a dedicated mobile app. The art installation was well received in the beginning of October at the National Museum of Recent Art in Bucharest (MaRe), Romania. The installation, a cross between film archive research work and new media technology, is a first step in a larger attempt to recover and research Romania’s neglected short film history stored for decades at the National Romanian Film Archive. 

Almost the entire selection of short films can also be streamed for free on www.shortsup.ro until the end of October 2020, offering the public the rare opportunity to access films from the national archive. The team also developed a catalogue with background information on the history of short film in Romania.

Team:

Project Manager: Sabina Baciu
Research coordinator: Alexandra Safriuc
Curators: Alexandra Safriuc, Gabriela Filippi
Editorial team: Gabriela Filippi, Flavia Dima

Augmented Reality installation team: Augmented Space Agency – Ciprian Făcăeru, Sabin Șerban, Dan Făcăeru și Florin Dumitru

Partners: AFCN – Administrația Fondului Cultural Național, CNC – Centrul Național al Cinematografiei, ANF – Arhiva Națională de Film, FAV – Fundația Arte Vizuale

For more details please read the official press release and browse through the photo gallery here.

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