The first screening of the “Odyssey MD” cinematic symphony in Chisinau
On November 15, 2023, the first screening of the film “Odyssey MD” took place in Chisinau. A small audience had the chance to see the protagonist of the film – Moldova, the homeland of the director Pavel Brăila. The documentary chronicles the daily life across the country in the four seasons without narration.
“Odyssey MD is a cinematic symphony, an essay, a journey in which the camera monitors how life develops in different locations, cities and villages along both banks of the Dniester River”, mentions Pavel Brăila, the director of the documentary “Odyssey MD”.
Pavel decided to make this film a few years ago when he was working at the National Archives. That was the moment when he discovered that in the last three decades, there were no visual updates about the life of Moldovan cities and villages, while until 1986 documentation was carried out periodically. Thus, one could easily find a lot of footage, starting from people’s everyday lives to solemn events, etc.
“The first idea on the top of my mind was that in 100 years if someone wants to find something about Moldova, that will be impossible, and I realized that the city where I live is a black void”, says Pavel. This motivated him to start working on ‘Odyssey MD’.
In 2020, the director benefited from a grant worth over 47 thousand euros, offered within the EU program “Confidence Promotion Measures”, implemented by UNDP.
Filming was done during 2020-2021 in over 100 locations on both banks of the Dniester River. After the post-production stage, the documentary was presented at several international festivals including Krakow Film-Fest (Best Pitch Prize), Leipzig Filmfest 2022, Where East Meets West Trieste Filmfest 2023, Thessaloniki Film Fest 2023.
The documentary “Odyssey MD” is planned to be presented publicly in 2024.
The “Confidence Promotion Measures” program, financed by the European Union and implemented by UNDP, contributes to the strengthening of trust between the inhabitants of both banks of the Dniester River, by involving them in common development projects.
