Georgeta

In 1983, Albert travelled back and forth to Eastern Europe on business. He went from being a salesman in a petrochemical company, to being an "object courier", bringing back objects that refugees had to leave at home. After a few years, his daughter Béatrice receives a phone call: she has to go to the East Station (Paris) to welcome Georgeta, a young Romanian woman who has fled Ceausescu's dictatorship. Georgeta finds refuge at their home in the parisian suburb, and begins a new life. Yet, despite her newfound freedom, she remained tethered to her homeland: she still has an unbreakable link with her country. We bear witness to Georgeta's daily life with Albert's family and her recollections of her time in Bucharest. Georgeta is constantly looking for her freedom, she does everything to find a job as a rowing coach and achieve independence. In 1989, as Ceausescu's regime is falling, Georgeta is torn between the desire to return to her native country and the need to stay in France.

Director’s statement
Georgeta is an animated short film based on real events that blends the genres of documentary and magical realism to explore themes of freedom, immigration, and resilience in the 1980s.

The project was sparked in 2017 while spending time with my grandfather by the sea, where he shared the story of Georgeta. Her story and how it connects deeply in my mind with the sea compelled me to create this film right away.

The film is an intimate and surreal journey through Georgeta's daily life with her innermost thoughts and conversations with the sea, weaving a small story trying to place in the larger History.

The sea serves as a visual and metaphorical element throughout the movie, symbolizing freedom and open horizons. I aim to make a film that leaves room for doubt, anchored in reality yet indulging in generous surrealist elements and poetic expression. The film's visual language, using animated metaphors with gouache, draws inspiration from the works of Boris Vian and Haruki Murakami.