LocationsCinematic symphony “Odyssey MD” in its first screening in Chișinău
November 16, 2023
On 15 November 2023, the first screening of the film “Odyssey MD” took place. In front of a limited audience, the protagonist of the film was presented—Moldova, the homeland of director Pavel Brăila. The documentary portrays the chronicle of daily life throughout the four seasons across the entire country, without narration.
"Odyssey MD is a cinematic symphony, an essay, a journey in which the camera monitors how life unfolds in different locations, cities, and villages along both banks of the Nistru River," says Pavel Brăila, the director of the documentary.
The motivation to make this film grew a few years ago when Pavel was working in the National Archive and discovered that in the last three decades, there have been no visual updates regarding life in Moldovan cities and villages. Up until 1986, documentation had been carried out periodically. Thus, a lot of filmed materials could easily be found, ranging from the daily lives of people to solemn events, etc.
"The first idea that came to my mind was that in over 100 years, if someone wants to find something about Moldova, that person will find nothing, and I realised that the city where I live is, in fact, a black hole," says Pavel. This convinced him to start working on “Odyssey MD”.
In 2020, the director received a grant of over 47,000 euros under the EU Confidence Measures Building Programme, implemented by UNDP.
The shootings took place in 2020 and 2021 in over 100 locations on both banks of the Nistru River. After the post-production stage, the documentary was presented at several international festivals, including Krakow Film-Fest (Best Pitch Prize), Leipzig Filmfest 2022, Where East Meets West Trieste Filmfest 2023 and Thessaloniki Film Fest 2023.
The documentary “Odyssey MD” is set to be presented to the general public in 2024.
The Confidence Building Measures Programme, funded by the European Union and implemented by UNDP, contributes to building trust between residents on both banks of the Nistru River by involving them in common development projects.
