Intent on forcing contemporary society to confront the realities of the past, a young artist prepares an elaborate public performance detailing ethnic cleansing carried out by the Romanian military on the Eastern Front in 1941. But when the curtain rises, will the audience’s reaction be what she intended? Aferim! (PSIFF 2016) writer/director Radu Jude’s singular approach to filmmaking yields a piece provocative in both subject matter and style, a reflexive narrative commenting on the troublesome nature of selective patriotism and collective memory, and of art in pursuit of “the truth.” As our protagonist grapples with problems in her own life, her rehearsals appoint her the precarious general of her own motley army of actors and extras. Periodically sparring with a local official concerned about the content of the performance, she expounds on her research and philosophy, unwittingly revealing her own paradoxical sincerity and frivolity, and the danger of examining the past with modern eyes.

In competition for the FIPRESCI Award.