The New Year That Never Came

Movie Details:

Cast & Characters:

• Adrian Văncică as Gelu
• Nicoleta Hâncu as Florina, an actress from the Nottara Theater
• Iulian Postelnicu as Ionuț Dincă, a Securitate officer
• Mihai Călin as Ștefan Silvestru, a TVR director
• Emilia Dobrin as Margareta Dincă, Ionuț’s mother
• Andrei Miercure as Laurențiu Silvestru, Ștefan and Alina’s son, a student
• Ioana Flora as Mariana, Gelu’s wife
• Ada Galeș as Camelia Dincă, Ionuț’s wife
• Marian Râlea as Mihalcea, a TVR producer
• Gabriel Radu as Gabi, a TVR cameraman
• Manuela Hărăbor as Alina Silvestru, Ștefan’s wife and Laurențiu’s mother
• Ion Sapdaru as Comrade Vârtosu, the head of TVR
• Angel Popescu as Alex
• Vlad Ionuț Popescu as Vlad, Laurențiu’s best friend
• Victoria Raileanu as Lili, an actress
• Elvira Deatcu as doamnă
• Gabriel Spahiu as Benghe, Florina’s neighbor
• Vasile Muraru as Uncle Romică
• Theodor Șoptelea as Manu
• Sorin Cociș as Stamate
• Răzvan Vasilescu as the theater director
• Ilinca Hărnuț as the scenographer
• Luca Toma as Marius, Gelu and Mariana’s son
• Mircea Andreescu as Uncle Chican
• Ioan Paraschiv as the investigator
• Doru Cătănescu as the postman
• Nicodim Ungureanu as the taxi driver
• Marius Damian as Uncle Jiji
• Marian Adochiței as Berlogea
• Dana Voicu as a pharmacist
• Afrodita Androne as the set secretary
• Virgil Aioanei as Gelu’s coworker
• Vlad Jipa as Comrade Marcel

Storyline:

On the brink of revolution in 1989 Romania, six lives intersect amid protests and personal struggles, leading to the explosive fall of Ceausescu and the communist regime.

About Movie:

The New Year That Never Came (Romanian: Anul Nou care n-a fost) is a Romanian historical tragicomedy, marking the feature directorial debut of Bogdan Mureșanu. The film stars Adrian Văncică, Nicoleta Hâncu, Iulian Postelnicu, Mihai Călin, Emilia Dobrin, and Andrei Miercure.

Expanding on the characters from Mureșanu’s 2018 short film The Christmas Gift, the director described the inspiration for the feature film as an exploration of “the humanity of small lives exposed to great historical events” and the emotional turmoil of a disappearing world.

Principal photography took place around Bucharest, including Gostinu, a commune near the city. Cinematographer Biró Boróka employed the Arri Alexa Mini for the shoot, which concluded on September 28, 2023.

The film’s trailer was released on August 28, 2024, ahead of its premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2024, where it competed in the Orizzonti section. On September 2, Memento Distribution secured the French distribution rights. The film had its theatrical release in Romania on September 24, 2024.