Obcina

Original title Obcina

OBCINA
is a small village hidden in the mountains. During summer dozens of Ruthenians live and work there. Before winter all of them leave the mountain village, that is exposed to extreme weather. Only the family of the cooper Stefan Cut houlds out on the mountain as they do so for many years now. During this time they try to defend themselves and their animals against invading wolves in order to survive with the few provisions they cultivated and harvested during the year. So far they always succeeded, but now a momentous accident threatens their existence. Stefan had frozen his fingers while ascending from the village. Now he is very frightened to undergo the painful amputation. But the family needs his important manpopwer to survive. The hard facts convince him in the end to dare undertake the ecessary steps. So the viewer stays in feverish excitement with Stefan for the success of this surgical operation and apprehends with joy, that he can work again on the mountain. Nevertheless the family wants to leave the mountain during wintertime. But like every year nobody believes them. In this moving events further inhabitants of the mountain village are intermingled and set filmic charmingly in scene. There is the devils fiddler Ivan, the philosopher Vasile and families with many children. They make for summery turbulences on the mountain. But will the Cuts now, as the last family , leave the mountain in winter?

Author/s Björn Reinhadt

Reinhardt Björn
was born in Berlin 1963. Between 1983 and 1985 he worked as production assistant at the Deutschen Fernsehfunk in Berlin. In 1995 he debuted as director with the documentary After Seven Castles, which was broadcast on Romanian TV and on Deutsche Welle TV. Between 2000 and 2002, he worked as head of production at Zeitzeugen TV; since 2002 he has produced documentaries in Romania.

Research Ethnology
Photography Björn Reinhadt
Sound Björn Reinhadt
Editing Björn Reinhadt