Uppercase Print

Radu Jude breaks all the rules of documentary making with a film that denounces authoritarianism and champions rebellious spirits.

In 1981, chalk slogans written in uppercase letters started appearing in public spaces in the Romanian city of Botoşani. The messaging was simple: they demanded freedom, signalled freedoms in other countries or simply called for improvements in the food supply.

Tapping into the files of the Romanian secret police, what's revealed is a heavy-handed investigation that leads officials to the culprit, a teenage boy who was still at school at the time.

Curator's Note

Originally written for the stage as a factual play by Gianina Cărbunariu, Radu Jude's screen adaptation makes for some thoroughly original filmmaking in its own right.

Capturing direct-to-camera monologues against hyper-stylised set design, and intercutting the unfolding narrative with television footage from communist-era Romania, the resulting film is a hybrid documentary that will have audiences arguing how "hybrid" can you go. The answer is of course, who cares?

Uppercase Print premiered at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival which was the last, big film festival before the COVID-19 pandemic, placing the film in a blind spot for many, awaiting discovery.

– Reece Goodwin, Curator (Film & TV)