TO OPEN LOS ANGELES & PASADENA AUGUST 10 AT LAEMMLE THEATRES

12:08 EAST OF BUCHAREST

A film by Corneliu Porumboiu.
WINNER - CAMERA D’ OR

DIRECTORS’ FORTNIGHT CANNES FILM FESTIVAL 2006

2007 Spirit Award Nominee - Best Foreign Film

Tartan Films USA will theatrically release 12:08 EAST OF BUCHAREST on August 10 in Los Angeles at Laemmle Theatres and in Orange County August 17.

The whole country 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 invites two guests to share their moments of revolutionary glory. One is an old retiree and sometime Santa Claus, the other 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 calling “down with Ceausescu”. But phone-in viewers dispute the claims of the heroes, who may have been boozing in the bar or making Christmas preparations rather than rebelling in the streets.

12:08 EAST OF BUCHAREST stars MIRCEA ANDREESC, TEO CORBAN and ION SAPDARU.

Porumboiu scripted, directed and produced this comedy following a residency at the Cin�fondation in Cannes. He was 14 when the regime fell and remembers the day when everyone was glued to their television set.

Romania, 2006, 89 min, 35 mm, colour, 1:1,85, stereo

Awards & Film Festivals

WINNER - CAMERA D’ OR, DIRECTORS’ FORTNIGHT CANNES FILM FESTIVAL 2006 and Europa Cinemas Label
2007 Spirit Award Nominee - Best Foreign Film

Film Festivals

Cannes Film Festival 2006; Transylvania International Film Festival, Telluride, Karlovy Vary, Seville and Jerusalem Film Festivals. Theatrical Release Dates

NEW YORK

Opened in June.

LOS ANGELES, PASADENA
August 10th at Laemmle Theatres. Contact Laemmle for details. *Orange County is slated to open August 17.

“A delicate satire of the post-communistic delusions that underlines the cruelty of history without being cruel to the characters.”

-THOMAS SOTINEL, LE MONDE
“A buoyant little comedy, in the best tradition of East European humor, the film is savvy but concrete, gentle but sharp as a knife. Porumboiu’s first feature adds another voice to the growing ranks of interesting new Romanian helmers,”

-DEBORAH YOUNG, VARIETY
“A fresh, engaging comedy with universal themes which really engage with the audience. It deals with important issues very effectively in a humourous way. We are delighted to have discovered another highly talented young director from Rumania.”

-THE JURY OF THE EUROPA CINEMAS NETWORK (This Jury awarded the film its prize, which includes support for an extended theatrical exposure and additional promotion for the film.)

About Tartan Films:

Hamish McAlpine, the founder and owner of Tartan Films, celebrating twenty one years of distributing films in the UK), launched Tartan USA in 2004 with an eclectic and controversial slate of films from established auteurs and up-and-coming filmmakers. Previous Tartan film releases include 2004 Cannes Grand Jury Prize Winner OLDBOY, the critically-acclaimed Romanian Oscar entry THE DEATH OF MR LAZARESCU and the final film in Park Chanwook’s “Vengeance Trilogy,” LADY VENGEANCE. In Fall 2006 Tartan released THE CAVE OF THE YELLOW DOG, from the director of THE STORY OF THE WEEPING CAMEL.

Upcoming theatrical releases include 2005 Cannes Jury Prize Winner, Andrea Arnold’s RED ROAD, cutting edge Hong Kong helmer Johnnie To’s TRIAD ELECTION and Danish, Director Anders Morgenthaler’s half-animated/half-live-action PRINCESS.

www.tartanfilmsusa.com