The New Year That Never Came
Bogdan Muresanu
New Year's shows are pre-produced. So as early as December 1989, Romanian television is working on a show to thank dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu for another successful year. There's just one problem: the lead actress has defected to the West. The new directors promptly chose the actress Florina as her replacement. But with the impending uprising against the regime already brewing in the streets, Florina tries to escape the assignment by any means necessary. At the heart of this tragic comedy is the story of a show that was never broadcast. The New Year That Never Came recreates the last days of the Ceausescu dictatorship through complex interplay of multiple perspectives and characters.
Director Bogdan Mureșanu’s feature film debut is based on his short film The Christmas Gift, winner of the 2019 European Film Awards. In the movie, a son, on behalf of his father, asks Santa Claus for "the death of Nic," referring to the tyrant Ceaușescu. And then actually sends the letter...
27 April 2025
16:00 h, Elysee 2 im Festivalzentrum
More information
| Direction | Bogdan Muresanu |
| Country | Rumania/Serbia |
| Year | 2024 |
| Duration | 138 min |
| Language | Rumanian |
| Language version | Original with English subtitles |
| Production | Bogdan Muresanu, Adriana Bumbes, Irina Enea, Bogdan Luca |
| Co-production | Ada Solomon, Viorel Chesaru, Vanja Kovacevic |
| Cast | Adrian Vancica, Nicoleta Hâncu, Emilia Dobrin |
| Camera | Boroka Biro, Tudor Platon |
| Script | Bogdan Muresanu |
| Editing | Vanja Kovacevic, Mircea Lacatus |
| Sound Design | Sebastian Zsemlye |
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About the director
Bogdan Mureșanu, born 1974, graduated from the I. L. Caragiale National University of Theatre and Film in Bucharest. In 2012 he produced his first short film Half Shaved. He won the European Film Awards for The Christmas Gift. The New Year That Never came is his first feature film.
Press reviews
Harkening back to the aesthetics of the time with equal amounts of respect and irreverence, the director handles a kaleidoscope of controlled chaos which highlights the shared achievements of the two cinematographers – Boroka Biro and Tudor Platon – and the ensemble cast, whose talents find their match in Mureșanu’s precise and sublimely witty script. In evoking a specific moment in time, the movie crafts a timeless tale of human interaction with colourful flourishes and powerfully understated grace notes. (The Film Verdict)
The New Year That Never Came is a powerful example of how cinema can become a time machine that teleports us to a certain era, bringing us back to safety just as the issues of that period seep into our very soul. (Cineuropa)
International Feature Film Program