2007 News Archive

EMBASSY CHISINAU’S SECOND FILM FESTIVAL DRAWS THOUSANDS

October 03, 2006

Spectators lining up to get into the cinema

Thousands of people thronged into cinemas in Chisinau and three other cities from September 21 to 27 to view American Western films during the second American Film Festival organized in Moldova by the American Embassy.

A total of 10 films, ranging from Stagecoach from the 1930s to Maverick (1994) were shown in Chisinau, Balti, Ungheni and Cahul during 28 showings over a one week period.  The event was widely covered by national and regional media.  The viewing public, composed primarily of youth, was estimated to total over 7,500 people, based on free entrance ticket distribution and in-situ audience size approximations during each show.

The embassy has been choosing typically American film genres as themes for the Festival.  In 2006, American Musicals was the theme of the first ever American Film Festival organized on Moldovan soil.  In selecting the films to be presented, attention is focused on having a representative sample of the best films within that genre as well as to provide a sense of the development of those types of films and filmmaking over time.