TRANSNATIONAL CULTURAL EXCHANGES: THE CENSORSHIP OF FOREIGN FILMS IN ROMANIA DURING THE 1960s – 1970s. HIGHLIGHTS FROM A FILM DISTRIBUTION ARCHIVAL FUND
TRANSNATIONAL CULTURAL EXCHANGES: THE CENSORSHIP OF FOREIGN FILMS IN ROMANIA DURING THE 1960s – 1970s. HIGHLIGHTS FROM A FILM DISTRIBUTION ARCHIVAL FUND

Summary/Abstract: This article explores the censorship of foreign films in Romania during the 1960s and 1970s, a period marked by increased film exchanges with both socialist and non-socialist countries. The study is primarily focused on a unique collection of archival documents – the Monica Maisner Fund – that provide rare insights into the control of foreign cinematic productions. A variety of documents elucidate the mechanisms behind film selection, evaluation, the activity of commissions in charge, the role of the involved institutional authorities, various forms of interventions, problematic cases, the criteria determining the acceptance or rejection of specific films. Compiled by a former employee of the sole institution responsible for nationwide film programming and distribution (Centrala România Film and its predecessors), this archival collection also raises pertinent questions for readers about its status in relation to censorship. Drawing on the literature on transnational cinematic exchanges, this article demonstrates the significant weight that censorship carries in the dynamics of the politically charged context of the Cold War.

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