The Melbourne Cinémathèque & ACMI present
Aferim!
When
Wed 6 Dec 2023
Using western tropes to explore the overlooked topic of the Romani slave trade in 19th century Europe, Romanian maverick Jude’s fourth feature is also his most extravagant, its luscious, 35mm-shot black-and-white imagery recalling both Red River and Stagecoach. With the intention of historicising the racism against Romani people in present-day Europe, the film is a potent and entertaining formal mix, including dialogue spoken in authentic 19th century Romanian. Preceded by Song of the Prairie Jiří Trnka (1949) 23 mins – Unclassified 15+. Trnka’s brilliant puppet animation is the first screen outing for Jiří Brdečka’s Lemonade Joe character.
16mm print courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive, Australia.
Also screening on Wed 06 December
Program
Ostern Powers: An introduction to the Eastern European Western
Aferim! (2015) – Wed 6 Dec, 7pm
The Wind Blows Under Your Feet (1976) – Wed 6 Dec, 9.30pm
Western (2017) – Wed 13 Dec, 7pm
The Sons of Great Bear (1966) – Wed 13 Dec, 9.35pm
Nobody Wanted to Die (1965) – Wed 20 Dec, 7pm
Lemonade Joe (1964) – Wed 20 Dec, 9pm
About the program
It may come as a surprise, but that most quintessentially American genre, the western, was enormously popular behind the Iron Curtain. Of course, it was seldom possible for Eastern Bloc audiences to see Hollywood films. No matter; even though socialist states deemed the Hollywood western decadent in propagating foundational frontier myths, they took to the production of westerns with great relish...
Plan your visit
Read our COVIDSafe visitor guidelines, information on accessibility, amenities, transport, dining options and more.
About Melbourne Cinémathèque
Australia's longest-running film society, Melbourne Cinémathèque screens significant works of international cinema in the medium they were created, the way they would have originally screened.
Melbourne Cinémathèque is self-administered, volunteer-run, not-for-profit and membership-driven.
