Obcina

by Björn Reinhardt
80', DV-Cam, Romania, 2007

Obcina is a small village hidden among the mountains of Romania. In the summer many families live and work there, but as soon as winter arrives they all go down below. Only Stefan Cut’s family remains up there each year with their animals, defending themselves against attacks from wolves, snowstorms, and the freezing wind. This year Stefan and his family want to go down too, but no one believes them. “They say this every year… ”. But Stefan’s fingers were frozen last winter and he cannot work. It will be difficult for his family without his help. Will they stay in the mountains or go down, like the last family that just left? This film gives us a glimpse of a hidden world, where all is colour and music, where people still sing and children are raised between work and play, and already seem grown up.

Björn Reinhardt
Born in 1963 in Berlin, Björn Reinhard began work as an assistant to the director of the Deutscher Fernsehfunk Berlin. He then studied stage design at the Art High School Berlin Weißensee. In 1995 he began directing documentary films for Romanian and German television. Since 2002 he has worked as an independent director in Maramures, Romania.