OFF THE BEATEN TRACK

by Dieter Auner
87’, Ireland, 2010
Italian premiere
A world that has remained intact for centuries is suddenly shaken by profound changes. Since Romania entered into the European Union, Romanians can work as farmers and earn in one month what they once took a year to earn as shepherds. This documentary recounts a year in the life of Albin Creta, a young shepherd from northern Transylvania, showing us his life and work, which includes shearing, milking, cheese making, and long nights in the Transylvanian mountains. Every moment of Albin’s life is documented up close: the sale of his lambs, the purchase of a machine, and the departure of his mother who works in Germany. The filmmaker’s attention to detail in this small rural community that is disappearing allows us to discover all of the little changes in the lives of the protagonists who try to adapt to the enormous upheaval in the country and to an evolving world.
 

Dieter Auner Dieter Auner was born in 1970 in what was then Communist Romania. He emigrated in 1990 to Germany, following the exodus of his people, the Saxons of Transylvania. He studied physics at the university in Bonn before moving to Ireland in 1996. Since that time he has worked as a director and photographer for national and international productions, but always with an eye out for his Romania.