MOVIE

Down With Hitler! Down With Antonescu! Down With the Death Penalty!

2022 · 17 min · Documentary

In 1942, three Jewish teenagers were executed in Bucharest. They were accused of distributing banknotes with anti-fascist slogans: «Down with Hitler! Down with Antonescu!» Ten years later, the mother of one of them writes a letter to the Romanian Communist Party in an attempt to clear her son's name. He was not even allowed to say goodbye to his family. Stylized in a retro black-and-white aesthetic, the film by the renowned Romanian director Andreea Vălean presents a monologue by the mother (portrayed by Katia Pascariu). Desperately trying to find the right words, she recounts the story of the cruel murder of innocent young boys, captured on camera.