Object Story
The first Romanian animated film was “Păcală în lună” by Aurel Petrescu, premiered on April 5, 1920.
In 1964 the specialized studio “Animafilm” was founded, following the numerous awards won by Ion Popescu-Gopo at international festivals. More than 800 people worked there.
On July 23, 1978, Ion Mihai Pacepa, head of the Security Ministry, asks for political asylum in the USA. His daughter, Dana, was a set designer at Animafilm. She was married to a sculptor, Dămăceanu, also an employee of the studio. Many of the people who “worked” there were only in charge of surveillance. They were both watched 24 hours a day by the Securitate forces.
A number of valuable films, such as Victor Antonescu’s 1973 co-production “Robinson Crusoe”, were banned from broadcast (on the grounds that blacks eat whites in the kitchen) and were not seen by Romanian audiences until after 1989.
By 1989 Animafilm had produced 1260 titles (7 feature films, 15 serials). In 1986 alone – 60 titles were produced, including a feature film “Who’s laughing at the end”. 40% of Romanian films sold on the international market were animated films.
After 1989 Animafilm production collapsed: 32 short films in 1991, 15 in 1992, 7 in 1993, 1 in 1994. After 1994 only one more short film is produced in 1999.
The painting (White Moor) from Romanian animation studio Animafilm is a particularly poignant exhibit. It is a relic from the past (pre-1989 in Romania). Its existence tells us that even under the most difficult circumstances, dedicated artists were still creating work, telling stories and attempting to transcend their circumstances to move and entertain audiences. The fact that the studio faltered and then collapsed post 1989, a victim of the shifting political landscape, is peculiarly melancholy. The inclusion of this arterfact links us with that past, a bittersweet connection – Mary Kate O’Flanagan, curator