As authorities are announcing new measures to limit public gatherings and advise people to limit non-essential travel and social contact, and cultural institutions are canceling their events throughout the month of March, it looks like it’s time for home entertainment options to be explored. Some suggestions below.

Watch a Romanian film online

That Romanian film that everyone was talking about and you’ve been meaning to see? Some of them might be available online on various streaming platforms. The local initiative Cinepub allows viewers to watch Romanian productions legally – more on it here. Netflix carries a host of Romanian films, from the box office hit Oh Ramona to Graduation (Bacalaureat), which landed Cristian Mungiu an award for best director at the 2017 Cannes film festival, The Child’s Pose, a Gloden Bear winner at the 2013 Berlinale, or Untamed Romania (Romania Nemblanzita), exploring the biodiversity of the country. HBO Go also showcases a selection of Romanian films, including the documentary Toto and his sisters of director Alexander Nanau, whose latest documentary looks at the journalistic investigation and the reaction of the authorities following the 2015 fire at the Colectiv night club in Bucharest. The documentary, titled Colectiv, is to be shown on HBO Go as well. Launched last year, TIFF Unlimited is the video streaming platform of Transilvania International Film Festival, the largest film festival in the country. It showcases awarded, independent, art, and experimental films but also classics, of both local and international cinemas.

Visit a museum online

Thanks to Google’s Arts & Culture initiative, several museums from Romania can be explored online. Among them are Brukental Museum, the Astra Village Museum, and the Museum of Natural History, all located in Sibiu. The Parliament Palace in Bucharest is also available for a virtual visit, while the collection of the National Museum of the Romanian Peasant can be seen after it was included in the We Wear Culture virtual fashion exhibition. Last year, the National Cotroceni Museum in Bucharest, Peleș Castle, the National Moldova Museum Complex in Iași also joined the platform.

Find the time to read

More time at home could mean more time for reading. An increasing number of Romanian authors are being translated in recent years, among them Mircea Cărtărescu, the recipient of numerous international awards, and Dan Lungu, whose novel I’m an Old Commie! (Sînt o babă comunistă!) was not only a local best seller but also the basis of a script for a very popular film, directed by Stere Gulea. From among the authors of the inter-war period, Mircea Eliade’s Diary of a Short-Sighted Adolescent and Gaudeamus were recently published in English, as was Mihail Sebastian’s novel Two Thousand Years.

Listen to some Romanian music

Dragostea Din Tei, also known as Ma Ya Hi or the Numa Numa song, is one of the best-known Romanian-language tunes. It was sung by Moldovan group O- Zone, who went on to record several other hits since its release. Meanwhile, there is plenty to discover when it comes to Romanian music, as we have been showing in the Romanian Song of the Day section.

(Photo: Pexels)

editor@romania-insider.com