The whole country in 1989 watched live on television as angry crowds forced Romanian dictator Ceausescu to flee Bucharest by helicopter. In a quiet town east of the capital, sixteen years since this historic day, the owner of the local TV station, Jderescu, invites two guests to share their moments of revolutionary glory. Piscoci, is an old retiree and sometime Santa Claus, and Manescu, a history teacher who has just devoted his entire salary to his drinking debts.Together they will remember the day when they stormed their town hall shouting “Down with Ceausescu!”. But phone-in viewers dispute the claims of the heroes, who were propably drinking in the bar or making Christmas preparations rather than rebelling in the streets.
2:08 East of Bucharest is a 2006 Romanian film directed by Corneliu Porumboiu, released in 2006 and winner of the Camera d'Or Prize (for best first film) at the Cannes Film Festival. It was also released in the United States under the abridged titles East of Bucharest and 12:08 Bucharest.
The full English title refers to the setting of the film and the time of day at which Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu fled following the revolution, 12:08 pm on December 22, 1989.
Awards and Nominations
Golden Camera at Cannes 2006 Label Europa Cinemas at Cannes 2006 Audience Award at Transilvania IFF Best Film Award at Transilvania IFF 4 Gopo Awards in 2007 Nominated for European Film Awards 2006 Special Prize at Cottbus 2006 Golden Swan at Copenhagen IFF 2006
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