Chuck Norris Versus Communism

Director: Ilinca Calugareanu
Producer: Mara Adina and Brett Ratner

In communist Romania, under the iron st of the feared Caucescus, life was a cultural desert.

All forms of communication were heavily censored, all images of life outside the Iron Curtain cut off and TV reduced to a couple of hours of propaganda bulletins. But there was one window into the free world available to anyone who dared to look.

This is the tale of how thousands of Hollywood films were smuggled into the country through a well-oiled operation that swelled until it reached millions across Romania. The films were dubbed by one courageous female translator whose distinct voice captivated the whole nation and became a symbol of freedom.

The stories of action heroes like Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme captured every child’s imagination, but it was the lavish settings and backdrops that mesmerised this unique audience. For the first time people saw what had been denied to them: supermarkets stacked full of food, the trappings of wealth, the latest fashions, super cars, and most of all, freedom.

15+ (exemption)
2015 | 80 minutes | United Kingdom Romania Germany | English