Hotel Dallas, a feature film directed by Romanian Livia Ungur and American Sherng-Lee Huang, will have its world premiere at the 2016 edition of Berlinale. The movie, which combines fiction and documentary, will be screened in the festival's Panorama Dokumente section.

Hotel Dallas explores the influence of the famous American TV series Dallas on the Romanian society before and after the fall of the communist regime. The film takes Dallas star Patrick Duffy on a magical mystery tour of Romania, from the communist 80s to the present.

Dallas was the only American show broadcasted on TV in communist Romania. Although the authorities broadcasted it to depict the many flaws of capitalism, the series captured the imagination of millions. Among them were Ilie and his daughter Livia, whose lives changed due to the TV series. After the fall of communism, Ilie built the Hotel Dallas, a life-size copy of the Dallas mansion, while Livia immigrated to America, became an artist, and directed this film starring Patrick Duffy. Find out more about the film here.

Hotel Dallas is the first feature film of Livia Ungur and Sherng-Lee Huang, who make a wife-and-husband artist duo. They make films, sculptures, installations, and performances.

Livia Ungur was born in communist Romania but immigrated to America to study art, graduating from the Yale School of Art. Sherng-Lee Huang grew up in Tennessee and is currently a video editor for The Huffington Post.

Hotel Dallas really exists in Romania. Ilie Alexandru, a local businessman, built the extravagant mansion, which copies the Ewing family's famous Southfork ranch, between 1992 and 1994. The domain, which was called the Hermes Park, is located close to the town os Slobozia, some 120 kilometers east of Bucharest. A replica of the Eiffel Tower, which used to host a coffee shop on top, also exists on the estate.

The park used to receive over 10,000 tourists from all over the country each summer, in the mid-90s, according to local Adevarul newspaper. Even American actor Larry Hagman, who played J.R. Ewing - one of the main characters in Dallas, visited the estate during that period. He was accompanied by Prince Paul of Romania and American magnate Neil Bush.

Ilie Alexandru was prosecuted and convicted for fraud and spent several years in jail. He died in 2010 due to a stroke. His park is now abandoned.

Famous Dallas actor Larry Hagman was paid by Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu for image rights

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com